Bradley Hale’s road to Boots and Hearts after winning wildcard vote
Rising country star Bradley Hale says he wouldn’t have made it to the Boots and Hearts Festival if it wasn’t for the community who rallied behind him and voted.
Hale, a Heidelberg native, won the wildcard spot in the Emerging Artist Showcase, beating out three other artists.
“I had so much support from friends, family and everyone in Woolwich, it was honestly overwhelming,” Hale told CTV News a few days after the results of the contest were announced.
Hale said he found out about his win on Thursday, while working at his family farm.
He called it a ‘surreal moment.’
“I had been checking my email all day hoping for a response, and when I was driving back to the shop after lunch I got the email saying that I had made it,” he said. “I pulled the truck over in the field and immediately called my girlfriend, my parents and my brother to say that I had won the spot.”
Hale grew up in a musical family and always knew country music was his passion. It wasn’t until after he got a Biomedical Science degree from the University of Guelph, did he act on his dream to be a performer.
He has been to the Boots and Hearts Festival five times as a fan and said this year will be a full circle moment for him.
“[I’ve] seen some of my favourite artists up there, so it will be so cool to stand on that stage and perform,” Hale said.
The Boots and Hearts Festival goes from August 8 to August 12 and takes place at the Burl's Creek Event Grounds in Oro-Medonte.
Hale will hit the stage on the first day of the festival.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Israel launches strikes on military targets in Iran, escalating Mideast wars
Israel launched airstrikes early Saturday on what it described as military targets in Iran in retaliation for a ballistic missile assault Oct. 1, officials said. There was no immediate information on damage in the Islamic Republic.
DEVELOPING Scotiabank confirms outage for mobile, online banking
Scotiabank has confirmed outages affecting mobile and online banking services, according to a statement published to its X account.
'I did everything I could': Canada Post driver recounts helping save woman from fiery Tesla crash
Canada Post driver Rick Harper recounts how he and others helped save a woman from a Tesla that caught fire after crashing into a guardrail on Lake Shore Boulevard.
An abrupt goodbye to a guerilla goldfish aquarium beneath a leaky Brooklyn fire hydrant
A makeshift aquarium that popped up this summer in a puddle beneath a leaky fire hydrant in New York City has been paved over, to the dismay of neighbours who turned the area into a hangout spot and goldfish shrine.
Climate change breaks heat records across Canada this summer
Human-caused climate change made almost all of Canada’s heat waves hotter and more likely, Environment and Climate Change Canada said in an announcement Friday.
Mother who beat and starved her 5-year-old son to death sentenced to over 50 years in prison
A New Hampshire woman was sentenced Friday to 53 years to life in prison in the death of her 5-year-old son, who was beaten, starved and exposed to drugs before his 19-pound body was found buried in a Massachusetts park in 2021.
'Get away from your inner circle': Liberal MP 'shocked' PM didn't take more time to reflect on calls to resign
Longtime Liberal MP Wayne Long says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should give more weight to the views of his backbenchers in determining his future leading the Party, rather than relying on those in his immediate orbit.
Mom and child jumped from a window to escape a Las Vegas fire that killed 2 children and 2 adults
Two adults and two children were found dead in the charred rubble of a house fire after a mother and another child jumped from a third-floor window to escape flames in a southwest Las Vegas neighborhood, authorities said.
Russian actors made fake video depicting mail-in ballots for Trump being destroyed, FBI says
Russian actors made a widely circulated video falsely depicting mail-in ballots for Donald Trump being destroyed in Pennsylvania, U.S. officials said Friday.