Bradley Hale’s road to Boots and Hearts after winning wildcard vote

A photo of Bradley Hale on stage. (Instagram/bradleyhale_)

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.

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