Image courtesy of treefortmusicfest.com
What is Treefort? That was the common response I received a few weeks back when I asked my friends whether or not they would be attending Boise’s favorite music festival. Simply put, Treefort is a concert festival, complete with a great variety in music, great people, and beer and food for all. For anyone who missed out or is still in the dark about this awesome yearly event, here’s the low-down:
The music.
The music at Treefort is the essence of the festival. Nearly 200 artists turned up for the event this year, which lasted from March 20th – 23rd this year. These artists performed a variety of genres, including indie and rock. There were various “forts” set up throughout the downtown Boise area for the event, including the main stage, which was outdoors, and other stages set up in various clubs and venues in downtown including China Blue and the Knitting Factory. The most exciting performance I witnessed was a DJ spinning and mixing vinyl records at the main stage– the beat was enough to make any girl dance her booty off.
The atmosphere.
Treefort’s atmosphere can be compared to a carefree summer’s night– minus the perfect weather. Although it got cold after the sun went down, I hardly noticed, because I was packed tight in a crowd with hundreds of people dancing the night away. Those who were 21+ received special wristbands, and for the most part were carrying beers in hand all evening, while face-paint crayons were passed around from person to person. On more than one occasion, I caught a whiff of the ever distinct Mary Jane– which was apparently being passed around as well. Like I said: it was almost just as carefree and fun as a summer night out with friends, and definitely a welcome stress-reliever for the middle of spring semester. While I had an amazing time dancing with my friends, I noticed that the crowd at Treefort in general seemed to be a bit older than us. This is not necessarily a con, but it would have been nice to see more people (and by people I mean hot guys) closer to our age range.
The beer.
Seeing as how I’m not yet 21, I wasn’t able to fully experience one of the great joys of Treefort: the beer. However, I do have a basic idea of how it all worked. Upon entering at the door and confirming their age, 21+ event-goers received a wristband: the golden ticket to beer tokens. For a sum of additional money, event-goers can purchase said beer tokens and use them to choose from a variety of different ales and lagers all over the festival grounds. The catch? You’re given an odd amount of tokens, which results in the following conundrum: you receive 5 beer tokens; one beer costs 2 tokens, so you’re left with 1 worthless token… unless you go back for another round. I guess that’s sales for you: always trying to bring you back for more. Certain bars throughout downtown also participated in Treefort, allowing Treefort tickets to act as cover for bars as well.
In retrospect, Treefort was an amazing event– but my experience was slightly incomplete. There’s nothing a little pregame or after-party can’t fix, but if you are lucky enough to be 21+, the beer-related Treefort festivities are definitely not to be missed. It is definitely worthwhile to check out as many forts as possible, as well. One particularly interest-sounding venue was the “Yoga Fort”: ticket-holders for Yoga Fort were welcome to attend multiple dance and yoga classes during the festival as well. Overall, I would definitely recommend attending Treefort at least once in your college career at Boise State. The atmosphere and people really do embody the culture of downtown Boise. For those of you looking to celebrate a stay-at-home Spring Break next year, Treefort is definitely a great option to look into.
There you have it, folks! For more information, check out the Treefort website, and make sure to stay tuned for information on next year’s event.