We’re not surprised that Morgan Wallen‘s Sand in My Boots Festival is returning in 2027, even though the festival got scrapped this year. (The 2026 hiatus seemed to be more about red tape and franchise agreements than it did about Wallen’s commitment to bringing the festival back.)
But the 2027 lineup came out on Monday (Nov. 2), and there are a few things about it that definitely caught our attention.
Morgan Wallen’s Sand In My Boots Festival Returning For 2027
- Sand in My Boots announced its return last month, and dropped the full lineup on Monday.
- Morgan Wallen, Ella Langley and Kings of Leon are headlining the event.
- Sand in My Boots will once again take place in Gulf Shores, Ala. This year’s festival will be held May 21-23, 2027.
Sand in My Boots held its inaugural festival in 2025. The event didn’t take place in 2026, so 2027 will mark the second iteration.
In some ways, the lineup is comparable to the show Sand in My Boots mounted in 2025. About the same number of artists are playing. Once again, it’ll be a genre mish-mash bringing in performers from the genres of rap, rock and EDM as well as country.
But the first thing that caught our eye was the names that aren’t on the bill.
Where Are Hardy, Bailey Zimmerman + Ernest?
Three artists who have historically toured and performed with Wallen a lot are nowhere to be found on this lineup. All three of them played Sand in My Boots in 2025…and Hardy was even a headliner!
Hardy’s absence is the most eye-catching: A singer-songwriter who frequently writes with Wallen and is a close personal friend to the star seems like he should be a shoo-in to play this festival.
None of the three artists’ tour calendars show a conflict for the dates of Sand in My Boots 2027. Ernest and Hardy are both playing Stagecoach the month prior, and Zimmerman is playing the Virginia Beach Patriotic Festival a few days after Sand in My Boots ends. But all of them appear to be free on May 21-23.
Still, artists’ tours get planned out well before they’re announced, so it’s possible that all three artists happen to have already committed to other performances on those days, and fans just don’t know it yet.
But that’s not an excuse for another big omission from the festival…
Why Doesn’t Sand in My Boots Have Any Legacy Country Acts?
To be fair, Sand in My Boots has never really marketed itself as a true country festival — and certainly not a traditional one.
Much like Wallen’s own listening palette, his festival draws on a wide range of genres, including rock and rap. Rock group Kings of Leon is a headliner this year. There’s also an uptick in electronic artists for 2027, including Norwegian DJ Kygo and electronic duo Empire of the Sun.
But for a festival mounted by the biggest country artist in the world, fans would probably expect a little more…well, country.
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There are quite a few new acts on the bill, like Vincent Mason, Hudson Westbrook, Gavin Adcock and Avery Anna. But the closest thing to a veteran country performer you’ll find here are Midland or Cole Swindell.
What you won’t see are acts like Tracy Lawrence, Travis Tritt, Gretchen Wilson, Jo Dee Messina: The kind of artists who had hits big enough in the ’90s or 2000s for today’s country fan to still know and love.
Sand in My Boots didn’t put a whole lot of priority on that kind of artist in 2025, either, but it did have Brooks & Dunn as one of four headliners. In 2027, that throwback slot — for country music, at least — is entirely empty.
But all things considered, country fans will still have plenty to sing along to at Sand in My Boots, and not just because of the massive crop of hot new country artists that will take the stage.
One of the festival’s three headliners is the undisputed Country Queen of 2026. It just so happens she played Sand in My Boots in 2025, too: And when you look at the way she’s shot up the bill in the space between those two years, it’s pretty dang shocking.
Ella Langley Went From Fine Print to Headliner!
Back in 2025, Ella Langley had already notched her first No. 1 (with “You Look Like You Love Me,” a duet with Riley Green.) That May, she was was about halfway up the lineup poster on the inaugural Sand in My Boots.
Fans didn’t know it yet, but Langley was about five months out from releasing “Choosin’ Texas”: A song that would catapult her into bona fide superstardom and kick off the release of her wildly successful Dandelion album.
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Now, Langley is once again on the Sand in My Boots lineup — but oh yeah, this time she’s a headliner! Comparing one festival poster to another is just another reminder of just how fast Langley’s star has risen, and how much can change in just two years.
Plus, Langley and Wallen are on the same bill, which offers pretty good odds that they’ll perform their duet “I Can’t Love You Anymore” at the 2027 festival.
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Gallery Credit: Evan Paul
