It seems these days you have to pay to breathe, and you have to pay even more if you want to have fun.
Treefort Music Festival is an upcoming event taking place in Boise, Idaho popular among college students, offering an opportunity to have fun and take a break from the stress of classes.
However, tickets are expensive. “Zipline” tickets cost $515.33 and let festival-goers “cut to the front of the line so you can see as much as possible during Treefort”, according to the Treefort website.
For attendees under 21, the General Admission (GA) festival pass offers the same access as the 21+ Tier 3 GA pass for “younger fans with access to all-ages venues,” at a price of $223.
It’s expensive. However, the good news is that there are many “Forts” that audiences can attend for free. These include Storyfort, Skatefort, Comedyfort, Podfort, Alefort and Artfort, where most events are open and free to the public. The full schedule of events are available on the Treefort website.
The Boise State campus will also host multiple events, including music, film and storytelling. Some of these include the Jazz Choir and the student showcase.
At the Centennial Amphitheater, performers will host several Boise State-related events, including Boise State’s Jazz Choir and Jazz Orchestra. These events will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, March 28.
“We’ll be playing tunes that we’ve been working on all semester,” said Sabrina Thomas, one of the students performing at the CVA.
“It’s live music, and it’s free, so that’s pretty awesome,” Thomas said. “It’s also supporting your fellow students, and it’s community building. Like, ‘Oh, look! These people go to my school’.”
Thomas looks forward to an underrated part of Treefort. “I like riding the buses. The buses are so fun and bands play on the bus, and it’s free!”
The city buses during the weekend are known as the Treeline, and they’ll be running all weekend.
“They set up a bunch of spots around the city. It takes you from venue to venue,” Nygard said.“Just ride the buses and you’ll see a bunch of bands performing in a really intimate and acoustic setting. It’s really awesome.”
Maggie Burke and Colin Turpin are students participating in the student showcase. The student showcase includes music and dance performances, art and film screenings, all held at the Center for Visual Arts (CVA) on campus.
“My clarinet trio will play some music while people look at the art and galleries,” Burke said. “People can have something nice to listen to. I’m excited to play in CVA … It’s a really cool space that, as music students, we don’t get to use very much.”
“It’s a self-guided experience,” Burke said. “You can just take a look at things and listen to some music. You don’t have to show up exactly when the band starts and leave when it’s over. You can come and go as you please. It’s also free, which I think is really cool, meaning a lot of people can come. CVA is on the way to all the other events, so if you’re going to a concert in Julia Davis [Park], you can walk through.”
“They might find something they didn’t expect,” Turpin said. “The music we’re playing is not exactly what you’ll hear every day, but it’s still really cool. You’ll get to experience new kinds of music and art that you wouldn’t have if you didn’t go.”
In case you are looking for tickets, Storyfort Marketing Director Megan Stoll informs that since Treefort isn’t happening during spring break, college discount passes are offered.
Stoll advises visiting the official website, treefortmusicfest.com, to buy tickets directly. Second-hand sellers often raise prices significantly, even for one-off events. There have been occurrences of fraudulent tickets that Treefort will not accept, so be cautious of second-hand websites claiming to sell valid tickets.
“Even the Morrison Center was getting scammed,” Stoll said.
Treefort Music Festival has officially kicked off and will run until Sunday, March 30. Whether you want to watch an up-and-coming local band, enjoy a stand-up comedy set or sip on some local brews — there are plenty of ways to experience Treefort without spending a fortune on tickets.
