Free country music tour making multiple stops in Ontario

If you want to check out live music this summer, Ontario will be a great place to do it.

Across Canada, people are shaking off the last bits of winter and getting ready for both the spring season and the revelry that comes with it. To help kick things off, Bud Light and Live Nation are taking the reigns and providing a free country music tour to celebrate the thaw in Canada’s heartland. 

The Buckle Up Tour is set to debut this upcoming May and will have shows across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. 

The event focuses on bringing country music to small towns — and the best part —tickets will be free to all, so those interested can dust off their spurs and jump in a line dance or two for no cost at all. 

“Country music was born in small towns, but as artists grow in their careers it often leads them to big stages in big cities,” said Andrew Oosterhuis, vice president of marketing for Labatt Breweries, in an official statement. 

The centerpiece of this tour is Ontario-born Owen Riegling, who started playing in small towns across the province. Riegling also won the 2022 Emerging Artist Showcase at the Canadian country music festival Boots & Hearts, which resulted in the development of a debut single and a burgeoning music career. 

 “I can’t wait to visit small-town bars across the country —  including my hometown of Mildmay —  playing free shows to fans and hopefully finding some new fans along the way,” said Riegling in a statement. 

The main Ontario stops for the Buckle Up Tour include: 

• May 15, 2024 – Thunder Bay, ON
• May 16, 2024 – Sault Ste. Marie, ON
• May 18, 2024 – Timmins, ON
• May 19, 2024 – Embrun,
• May 21, 2024 – Brantford, ON
• May 22, 2024 – Chatham, ON
• May 24, 2024 – Mildmay, ON

For those across Ontario looking to shake off their hibernation and usher in a spring/summer season with local art and music, it looks like it may just be time to buckle up.