The sun sets in Boise, Idaho as hoards of college-aged students linger on the outskirts of Treefort Music Fest. Music pours from the mainstage that is just barely out of reach. They scroll their phones or clutch their counterfeit bands in hopes of being a part of the five-day music festival.
For many students, the festival’s five-day pass — now pushing $300 — isn’t just expensive; it’s impossible. The irony being that some of the very artists on stage are in the same boat, playing for exposure while the price of admission keeps rising.
Rhodes Hull, frontman of Rhodes Hull’s Magic Band, is one of many musicians performing at Treefort Music Fest, an event where even paid artists often find themselves navigating the high costs of participation.
While Hull receives compensation for his set, he acknowledges that for many attendees — especially students — the rising price of tickets makes the festival increasingly inaccessible.
With the need to take time off work, pay for meals and the wristband itself, many artists and students find themselves struggling to take part in the Treefort experience.
“I only started going to Treefort a few years ago, [the] reason being because my band got in and I was able to get tickets that way,” said Hull. “It’s really, it definitely is a hefty price”
This year a basic general admission pass for the entirety of the festival cost $383.50 — just over 52 hours of minimum wage pay in Idaho.
Fon Petersen, a local Boise musician and lead performer of Fon Songs is a long-time Treefort artist. Petersen explains that for artists like himself, taking time off work to perform does not justify the low pay they receive —some receiving as little as $50 for performances.
“The music scene here has not been nearly as financially lucrative as it has been in the past,” said Petersen. “I’ve known people who were supporting themselves off of playing shows and touring, and that’s not super possible anymore.”
Petersen explains that when bands submit an application to perform, they are sent an offer via email detailing how much they will be compensated for a set.
“There’s no language that makes it clear that you can ask for more money or that you’re like, I guess, quote, unquote, deserving of more money,” said Petersen. “My first Treefort … had five people for most of the set, six people for a few songs. We got paid $50 [total], we all had to take a week off of work in order to actually participate.”
Petersen also explains that if artists were to bring their own sellable merch, venue owners and Treefort coordinators receive a cut of total sales.
“They take a cut of it, even if you made it by hand,” Petersen said. “It’s your f***ing merch, you should be able to make those sales. But no, they get a cut of whatever you make from your f***ing labor spent on making merch for your participants of your show.”
Treefort Music Fest is an exciting opportunity to both see small performers or perform yourself, however incessant costs are proving to be a detriment to both performers and attendees.
The official Treefort Music Fest page explains that the five-day wristband grants full admission (venue and Main Stage shows) to all days of Treefort and other “Forts”, including Filmfort and Yogafort. Excluding specialty ticketed events such as certain Comedyfort shows, Foodfort events or Alefort experiences.
To some, this experience is worth the price. For five days, Boise comes to life and allows the community to enjoy each other’s company with food and music. But to some, it is simply out of reach.
While the cost of admission is expensive, the cost of enjoying yourself adds additional prices. With beers at Alefort costing up to ten dollars and food trucks being the only option for meals, Treefort quickly turns into an excessive expense.
Emma Gouge, a senior English Literature major, has never attended Treefort due to the rising costs of admission.
“I have never attended Treefort,” said Gouge. “It is something I have wanted to do forever because it would be such a fun experience with all my college friends and it is so accessible, unlike bigger festivals in large cities. I think the passes are very unaffordable, especially for the content. Because most of the bands are smaller — I don’t think they don’t deserve money — but having the cost be the same as a multi-million dollar artist is ridiculous.”
Treefort does offer passes to those who volunteer or perform at the festival, but volunteering still may be out of reach for full time students such as Gouge.
“I work two jobs and go to school full-time,” said Gouge. “I don’t have time to volunteer for Treefort so I haven’t been able to do that.”
Despite the hefty price of a good time, Treefort does offer opportunities to musicians who otherwise would struggle to perform in Boise. While it is expensive, one must weigh what one values.
“When I hadn’t gone to Treefort, I thought it was a ridiculous price, but after going the last few years now and seeing how much you can do, it definitely is worth it to get the ticket,” said Hull. “I think about how they bring in 500 artists, and they allow all these local artists to even get the opportunity to play on a stage. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have even been playing on stages.”
For many students, Treefort represents everything they love about Boise — live music, community and creative expression. But as ticket prices rise, the festival is becoming less accessible to the very young people who help fuel its energy.
As Treefort continues to grow, the question remains: will it remain a festival for everyone, or only for those who can afford the price of admission?
This Post Has 4 Comments
There is so much in this that is inaccurate. I’ve performed in the last 4 Treeforts. One, they do not take a cut of your merch you sell. Sold merch for four straight years. We took all. 2 there are so many completely free options/stages etc. at Treefort that this opinion piece falls super flat. We literally played one of them this year to a packed crowd. Additionally no artist is forced to play Treefort or forced to take time off work. That is the choice of the musician. There are always going to be people with super strong opinions, and I understand that, but where this piece really frustrates me is Treefort goes completely out of their way to ensure this is a very community oriented, inclusive experience representative of all people from all different backgrounds and for this piece to stress the price point of. FULL wristband, which again is t forced upon anyone with free stages and other day passes available, with all of the above points that I just made I feel is very poor journalism.
Remember Treefort Inc came out of the COVID hysteria with 2 blocks of downtown Boise without having concerts for a year and a half. A brand new music venue and the square block of the Shriner abutting a high rise. Must be nice not having any income from concerts but purchasing, developing the most desirable real estate in Downtown Boise. Smoke on that , what the ? Then beating up bands for $50 ? What the ?
Emily, Your opinion piece on Treefort is interesting but I find it lacking in information about the free options Treefort has to offer. My business, Boise Brewing, happens to be pictured with your article. We have worked hard to participate in Treefort festivities while ALWAYS being FREE to the public. We receive NO compensation from Treefort organizers. “Freefort” is a popular option many of your readers would probably enjoy hearing more about! I’m happy to talk more about this!
$300 is nothing for a 5-day music festival. This is a very inexpensive festival compared to other festivals. It is very common to see $10 beers at music venues and bars, music festival or not. Also, if that beer is out of your price range, drink cheap beer from the supermarket (like college students traditionally do) before you go to the festival. Get a part-time job and save up your money so you can afford a ticket.