When I told some friends that I was planning on going to Boots and Hearts this year, they all seemed a bit surprised. Apparently I don’t come across as a country music fan lol… Little do most people know though, I grew up almost exclusively listening to country music and I’m not embarrassed to say that I was probably the most excited I’ve been in a long time for this festival than I’ve been for any other event.

I had never camped out for a festival before, but luckily, my sister (who I met with my sister at the campgrounds on day 1) went full housewife mode and prepacked all sorts of meals, snacks, and the rest of the camping necessities, including a tent, a leaky air mattress, and a small bbq to make hot meals! All I had to do was show up!

I decided to use the Sharethebus service to get to the campgrounds. Sharethebus is a shuttle service that is used at many big festivals to get to and from the festival. Luckily for me, I was able to get on downtown Toronto and got let off right at the Burl’s Creek campground entrance. Another rad feature of this service? If someone uses your promo code, you get a discount off your ride!

The lineup for the weekend consisted of 36 different acts. Some names I knew, many I did not. Keep in mind, I grew up on 90s country, so a lot of today’s newer artists, I’m very unfamiliar with. Nevertheless, I was excited to listen to some new music (but especially excited when some of that new music covered some throwbacks). Every single show came with good vibes and fostered a happy, go-lucky crowd that just seemed happy to have a drink in hand and to be able to sing along to every song like it was their own. Honestly, I’ve never seen an audience quite like the audience I witnessed all weekend. And I’m not quite sure I can even put the experience into words except to say that if you’ve never been to a country concert of some sort, you’re missing out.

Now I know I should have an epic photoset of my outfits the entire weekend, but unfortunately this weekend I traveled sans photographer. I got a couple snapshots, but after the weekend was over I realized I have a bit to learn when it comes to taking photos at an event when I plan on blogging about it lol.. I promise I’ll do better next time! haha

Outfit summary: Most of the weekend seemed to consist of short sorts, denim overalls and plaid flannels at the waist. And while all these styles appeal to me, I prefer to be different.
Day 1 — I revived the outfit from my Peacekeeper post, seen HERE.
Day 2 — I paired my TTYA x Long Tall Sally bobble trim crop top (which I also used at the last festival I went to, shown HERE) with a pair of vintage cutoffs I grabbed a few years ago from Black Market.

Day 3 — I recently picked up a beautiful (and yes sheer!) summer dress from TSOQ. Sorry gals, it was the last one, but there are still a few shorter versions, HERE. My style tends to be a touch cheeky, so I threw a pair of highwaisted booty shorts underneathe along with a lacy bralette to complete the look.

Day 4 — You can’t do a festival look without some fringe and this fringe goes for DAYS! Thankfully, I’ve got legs for days. Yes, another top I got awhile ago from TSOQ. Paired with my favourite vintage Levis.

My festival highlights:

• Jake Owen
• Cam – I’ve been in love with ‘Burning House’ and was looking forward to her set. Definitely one of my faves of the weekend!!
  
• Sam Hunt
  
• Dierks Bentley – probably the most entertaining show of the whole weekend
• JoJo Mason
• Dylan Scott – His Justin Bieber cover though ❤
  
• Diamond Rio – such a classic! Listening to them brought back so many feels, which only grew stronger during the final headliner of the weekend…..
• TIM MCGRAW

The entire weekend was amazing but I can’t say enough about Tim McGraw. Out of all the acts, he is the epitome of what I remember country music to be and brought me back to my younger self. Halfway through the set, I took a look around and soaked it all in. I had taken 4 days off of all responsibilities and obligations, and it wasn’t until the final night, and the final act, that I realized how much I had needed this weekend and the importance of being able to turn off. Until I had to go home, I wasn’t able to do anything else but listen to the music and enjoy the moment. As he was singing about the BBQ stain on his white t-shirt, I was watching people of all ages dance under the stars and sing every lyric to every song. I was watching people raise their beer cans in salutations to the artist during every chorus, and throw their arms around their friends, swaying back and forth to the music. I get so easily overwhelmed when I’m all go go go, often forgetting to schedule downtime for myself, and in that moment, I had nothing but down time. Despite the impending doom of going home to maybe one of the busiest months everrrr (more on that next week), I felt at peace and ready to take it on. I wish I had had more than just my iPhone to try and capture a photo that translated the moment exactly as I felt it, but perhaps that’s the beauty of it.

The Cole’s Notes of all that mumbo jumbo? Take a time out. Whatever it is that brings you to that part of you that was easier. Simpler. More relaxed. Less distracted. Go there. It’ll help you survive the weeds 🙂

PS Thanks for waiting a week for this one. It’s a bit of a different post than usual but let me know what  you think! Sometimes I feel like I’ve got more to share than just an outfit and if you’re vibing to this I want to hear about it.

Until next week,

xoxo