Sam Hunt Cancels Boots and Hearts Festival Appearance, Citing ‘Government Restrictions’
Sam Hunt has pulled out of his scheduled headlining performance at the upcoming Boots and Hearts Festival in Canada. The country singer broke the news online on Thursday (July 28), citing "ongoing government restrictions" as the reason he will not perform.
The 2022 Boots and Hearts Festival runs from Aug. 4-7. Hunt was slated to headline the festival — which bills itself as Canada's largest country music camping festival — on Friday, Aug. 5, topping a daily lineup that also includes Dustin Lynch, Morgan Evans and more.
Hunt turned to social media on Thursday to share a statement that reads, “Unfortunately, due to ongoing government restrictions, Sam Hunt will not be able to perform at Boots & Hearts Music Festival on August 5th. We were hopeful these restrictions would be lifted as the date got closer, but it’s now apparent that won’t happen. Boots & Hearts Music Festival has secured a great replacement, and we all hope you can continue to have a great weekend in Burl’s Creek.”
According to the festival's social media accounts, Jake Owen will now headline Friday night. Florida Georgia Line are set to headline Saturday, Aug. 6, and Shania Twain will headline the final night of the festival on Sunday, Aug. 7.
Hunt has had a busy — and tumultuous — year in 2022, both personally and professionally.
Hunt and his wife, Hannah Lee Fowler, welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Lucy, earlier in the year. He shared that news onstage during a performance at the Stars for Second Harvest charity concert at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on June 7. According to Entertainment Tonight, Hunt addressed the fans in attendance, sharing the news in public for the first time.
"I recently had a baby girl named Lucy Lu,” Hunt shared to cheers, adding, "I think being out here, and in the music business and being out on the road, has sort of hardened my heart. My heart's definitely a lot harder in a lotta ways since I left that small town. It’s amazing how that little girl melted that all away overnight a couple of weeks ago."
The joyous news came after Fowler filed for divorce in February of 2022. The court filing revealed Fowler's pregnancy and that she was due in May. In her divorce paperwork, Fowler alleged that Hunt was "guilty of inappropriate marital conduct" and "guilty of adultery."
Hours after she filed the original suit, Fowler withdrew her complaint, only to file once again — this time, in a different Nashville-area county — the following day. The filing came after five years of marriage.
In yet another unexpected development, Fowler called off the divorce in May of 2022.
Musically, Hunt released a new single called "Water Under the Bridge" in June, which finds him upbeat again after a period of challenge.