Boots & Hearts music festival kicks off in Oro-Medonte

Crews spent this afternoon putting the finishing touches on what is set to be one of the biggest Boots and Hearts festivals ever.

"We're so excited. It just seems like every year it's that Christmas Eve moment where the buzz of the fans, the artists, our vendors and partners on site and the clouds are now blue, which we are so excited," says Republic Live Boots & Hearts Booking Director Brooke Dunford.

Things kicked off Thursday at the Front Porch stage, where many up-and-coming artists from across the country are getting their first chance to hit a big stage through the emerging artists showcase.

Those artists will open for tim hicks ten years to the day of his first performance at Boots and Hearts.

"Well, for one thing, it's the largest country music festival we have in the country, and so it's a jumping off point for a lot of emerging artists. The emerging artist showcase is ahead of our set tonight, and it's just lovely to see all the great talent that we have in Canada because we have a very unique country music scene," says country artist Tim Hicks.

Campers were wasting no time getting set up Thursday. The festival is expecting upwards of 40-thousand people a day throughout the weekend.

Dunford says it's set to be one of its most significant years yet, with Nickelback, Keith Urban and Tim McGraw all leading the action on the main stage starting Friday.

"We're so fortunate. I think after 12 years, the fans have made an imprint in the industry and amongst the artists. We're so fortunate that they've come back and said either they want to play or they hear about how fantastic it is. We owe it to the fans. They come out, and they appreciate it, and they scream louder than some artists have ever even hard, and some artists have never even been to Canada, and they remember those moments," says Dunford.

The festival runs until Sunday evening.