Sam Hunt speaks.
Late last week, it was announced that he would no longer be heading to Canada to headline this Friday night at Boots & Hearts Music Festival, after his team posted a statement saying it was due to “ongoing government restrictions.”
They added that they’d hoped Canada would’ve removed their COVID restrictions by now, but since they still have vaccination requirements for U.S. travelers, he was not able to cross the border and honor his commitment.
It would seem really obvious at this point that the vaccine requirement was the sole factor for his reasoning in backing out so last-minute, though some had speculated it might’ve had something to do with the DUI he plead guilty to in August of 2021.
However, Sam cleared up any confusion and/or speculation, confirming that it was in fact the vaccination policy that forced him to cancel.
And in an Instagram post from last Tuesday, which was a video of him covering Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City,” Sam responded to a fan who asked why he dropped his appearance at the festival a week before it was scheduled, to which he said:
“I wish we were still playing. I was looking forward to it. Canada is still requiring the vaccine.”
Here’s the full original statement from his team on Twitter regarding the cancellation:
“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 hope you can continue to have a great weekend at Burl’s Creek.”
The multi-day country music and camping festival is slated for this weekend on August 4th through 7th, and will feature 40 artists across four days, including the great Shania Twain who will close out Sunday night, as well as Morgan Wade, and plenty more.
Jake Owen is replacing Sam as the Friday night headliner:
