Treefort Music Fest is in 2 weeks! Holy moly it’s that time of year. The annual music and arts festival is Wednesday, March 25 through Sunday, March 29. Today’s story is a guide to Treefort 2026 with lots of lil tidbits for the newbies, the unsure people, and even the hardcore Treeforters.
Let’s start at the beginning
The story of Treefort goes back to 2011, when there was a big ol’ hole in downtown Boise (aka the Boise Hole), the Red Room existed, Radio Boise just went on the airwaves, and people were camped outside of the County Courthouse as part of the Occupy Boise Movement…. what else was happening then?
Anyway as the story goes, Treefort’s four founders – Eric Gilbert, Lori Shandro, Drew Larona, and Megan Stoll – met in the summer of 2011 and collectively envisioned a music fest that would play host to a bunch of regional and national emerging artists, while showcasing local bands and the potential to host cool events in downtown Boise. They brought on a few more community members and within 6 months the small group planned and organized the first ever Treefort Music Fest.
The very first Treefort took place on March 22-25, 2012 in the Linen District of downtown Boise, with 137 artists playing shows in eight venues around the city. The Main Stage was in a parking lot on Grove Street, in between 12th & 13th Streets (where the new Broadstone Saratoga apartments are now). Alefort emerged as the first fort. More than 200 volunteers and dozens of downtown businesses helped pull it off, and a few thousands of fans were there to experience the experimental fest. It was a huge success and thus, the annual Treefort Music Fest was born.
Over the following years, the fest has gained 13 forts, many more stages, and thousands of fans. Treefort has become known for being the place where you see a band before they “blow up” and get super popular and a fest where “the fans are bands and the bands are fans.” Generations of kids have grown up Treeforting. Bands have met each other at the fest and gone on to form new bands and partner on tours.
After celebrating its 10th festival in 2022, Treefort went through some significant changes. Since its inception, the Main Stage had been in that parking lot on Grove Street, and many of the surrounding stages and events were set up on Grove Street, in the parking lot of The Owyhee (which is now Hotel Renegade), and in various alleys and nooks and crannies. Obviously, with the aforementioned new buildings, Treefort had to find a new spot. In 2023, the festival moved the Main Stage, the Hideout Stage, Kidfort, Alefort, and some other things to Julia Davis Park. Which worked out well because that was the same year that Treefort Music Hall and Hap Hap Lounge opened, which are just up the street from the park.
This year, Treefort will bring over 500 artists to 30+ music venues, while the 13 forts of the fest bring a few hundreds more artists, speakers, chefs, and performers to 20+ more venues throughout downtown Boise. It’s an incredible event. That said, it can be a little intimidating. Here’s how to experience it:
How to do Treefort 2026
Get your pass or make a game plan
You need a pass or a (loose) game plan. Your options for attending Treefort are:
- attend all five days
- attend one full day
- attend for the Main Stage shows
- attend a show/venue/event
- attend a fort
- attend the free stuff
- or combine free stuff with a Main Stage, venue, event and/or a fort pass
Go for four or five days
If you are going to Treefort for more than 3 days, the math says you should buy a full festival pass. You have four options for that:
- $396.06 for a full 5-day GA Festival Pass
- $310.07 for a full 5-day GA College Discount Pass
- $527.89 for a Zipline Pass (lets you skip all lines)
- $1499 for a Secret Handshake VIP Pass (Zipline Pass + VIP perks)
- $235.56 for a U21 Pass (for people under age 21)
These passes will get you into all events for all five days of Treefort (except for a few ticketed events). This is the best option if you plan to go to Treefort for 3 or more days.
All of the 5-day passes are running very low. Do not wait to buy!
Go for a day or two
Buy a single day pass and go to everything happening throughout the festival on that day. You could choose the day that works best for you and then swing into the free stuff on other days. Here’s the prices:
- Wednesday is sold out
- $172.60 for Thursday (flipturn + The Beaches + Samia + Kokein + Ingrown + Kishi Bashi + Angel Du$t & more!)
- $172.60 for Friday (Magdalena Bay + INJI + Hemlocke Springs + SEXTILE + Joe Pera + Machine Girl + COBRAH + Porches + Evan Honer & more!)
- $172.60 for Saturday (Geese + Mother Mother + St. Paul & The Broken Bones + Girl Tones + Chanpan + Hannibal Buress + Gelli Haha + Haute & Freddy + Maddie Zahm & more!)
- $172.60 for Sunday (Father John Misty + Built to Spill + Amber Mark + Yellow Days + Go Kurosawa + Kaleena Zanders + Drag Brunch & more!)
- $138.12 for 1-Day GA College Discount (Wednesday sold out)
Go to the Main Stage
The Main Stage is in Julia Davis park. You can easily spend all day at the park and the surrounding free stages and events. There is a section of the park that is totally free, where you can go to Alefort, Kidfort, and see music on the Bandshell.
The other section of the park is wristband-only, meaning you will need a 5-day Pass, Single Day Pass, or a Main Stage Pass to enter. This section has two stages: the Main Stage and the Hideout stage. These stages play at alternating times with a lil bit of overlap, so there’s music going all the time (and by all the time I mean like afternoon-10pm). Here’s the Main Stage ticket prices:
- $275.68 for all four days
- $103.72 for Thursday (flipturn + The Beaches + Samia & more!)
- $103.72 for Friday (Magdalena Bay + INJI + Hemlocke Springs + Evan Honer & more!)
- $103.72 for Saturday (Geese + Mother Mother + St. Paul & The Broken Bones + Maddie Zahm & more!)
- $103.72 for Sunday (Father John Misty + Amber Mark + Yellow Days & more!)
Lookout Lounge is also located within the Main Stage area. This is a private 21+ lounge area with its own bar, bathrooms, comfy seating, and views of the Main Stage. It’s $206.90 and is purchased in addition to a 5-Day GA, Single Day or Main Stage Pass.
Go for a show
If there is a show you want to see or want to hang with friends at a specific venue, you can buy a ticket to the venue. This is not available for all venues. You can buy a ticket to see all shows on Friday or Saturday at the Knitting Factory. Tickets are $43.67 – $66.33 Knitting Factory.
Sometimes there are other “walk up” venues depending on capacity. TBD if other venues will be doing walk ups.
Go to an event
There’s a few events that are ticketed and you do not need a festival pass to go, only a ticket. Those events are:
- Th March 26: Race Chaser Live With Alaska & Willam at Dragfort ($52.41)
- Th March 26: Get Dragged! Starring King Molasses & Aja at Dragfort ($52.41)
- Th March 26: Street Eats at Foodfort ($60)
- Fri March 27: Joe Pera at Comedyfort ($39.96 adv/$46.63 day of)
- Fri March 27: Comedyfort at Boise Contemporary Theater ($25)
- Sat March 28: Hannibal Buress at Comedyfort ($39.96 adv/$46.63 day of)
- Sat March 28: Comedyfort at Boise Contemporary Theater ($25)
- Sat March 28: The Kelly Mantle Show Live at Dragfort ($26.20)
- Sun March 29: Behind the Pass: Demo with KIN Restaurant ($75)
Go to your fave fort
You can buy a Fort Badge to go to all events at your chosen fort. You could pair this with free shows and forts (see below) and have a packed schedule. Buying a Fort Badge allows you to go to all events at that fort for the whole week! Those options are:
Freefort
Treefort has tons of free events, which is known amongst festivalgoers as “freeforting.” This includes going to stuff at the free forts, free stages, and “second chance shows” at bars and spaces around downtown. Most of these shows are all ages but I will note the ones that are 18+ or 21+.
You can see shows for free at:
- Alefort Lounge (in Julia Davis Park)
- The Bandshell (in Julia Davis Park)
- The Nest at Kidfort (in Julia Davis Park)
- Boise Brewing
- Lost Grove Brewing
- Payette Brewing
- Cyclops (on 8th Street outside of Warehouse Food Hall)
- Treeline (bands on the bus!)
- Skatefort/Rhodes Skate Park
Forts you can go to for free:
- Alefort (free, buy tokens + byo or buy reusable cup, all ages space but 21+ to drink of course)
- Artfort (free, in multiple locations)
- Kidfort (free)
- Foodfort (free events on Wed, Fri, Sat)
- Music Talks (free)
- Podfort (free)
- Skatefort (free)
- Storyfort (free, some events are in 21+ venues)
New Stuff this Year
Alefort Tokens can now be purchased via the Treefort app. You can purchase tokens directly within the app at any time and exchange them for drinks at any Alefort bars during the fest. Save time by purchasing tokens before you arrive. Physical tokens will still be honored for those who prefer the analog experience or if you have some leftover from years past.
Play the in-app game Roster to discover artists and build your schedule. I have been using this and it’s so awesome! Simply swipe right if you like what you hear or swipe left if not. You can also “fave” an artist or add them directly to your schedule.
Treefort Market is a new event happening on Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28 at Boise Centre. It’s a curated maker’s market showcasing the best of local and regional art, craft, design, vintage + music ephemera. There will be 70+ booths of innovative and original items, talks, workshops, art installations, and special events.
Secret Handshake VIP Pass is a new pass option with allll the bells and whistles. This includes a backstage VIP lounge and Main Stage viewing area, a private bar and food truck, complimentary festival shuttle, private bathrooms, access to Lookout Lounge, and all Zipline amenities.
Treefort 101
Download the app. That’s the absolute best way to check out the lineup + schedule when you are down at the festival. You can see the schedule online too.
Don’t know any bands? Check out the Curated Schedules. They even have curated playlists you can listen to! Or do some listening and swiping on the new Roster feature on the app.
Wondering how to get around Treefort? There’s a few options:
Treeline Bus is a free shuttle service on VRT buses that runs in a loop throughout the festival. The buses run:
- Wed, March 26 6pm-11pm
- Th, March 27 2pm-11pm
- Fri, March 28 1pm-11pm
- Sat, March 29 12pm-11pm
The other major perk of riding the Treeline is that bands play on the bus – it’s so fun! And it’s free! See the music schedule here. Also you can ride any VRT route for free with a Treefort wristband during the week of Treefort. So you could take the bus downtown for free!
Walking is another great way. Your feet will be tired after a few days but it’s worth it. Lots of opportunities to stumble upon something awesome while walkin’ around Treefort.
Biking is the most fun & easy way to cruise around, in my opinion. Definitely bring a bike lock.
Electric scooter or skateboard is also an option. Note that if you are skateboarding you may have to stash your board somewhere while you go into a venue.
If you’re going to drive, parking is not the easiest but it is doable. The best option is parking at Boise State in the Brady Garage which is $5/day. Second best option is a parking garage or surface lot, prices vary and will be more than $5/day. If you don’t want to deal with all that, take an uber/lyft or carpool.
If you use a wheelchair or festival-ing with someone who has a disability, here’s the accessible venues.
A few items to consider packing:
- A 16oz steel cup
- Earplugs
- Sunglasses/hat
- Wallet/fanny pack/small backpack
- Portable charger for your phone
- Bike lock + bike lights
- An extra layer
Parent pro tips:
Kids age 12 and under are free with an adult passholder.
You can bring strollers, blankets, and snacks into Julia Davis Park and the Main Stage area. You can also bring chairs into the park, but only on the grass or in designated “chairea” (lol). No hard coolers allowed. Outside of the park, some venues will be chill with strollers and some will not. Plan accordingly if you are going to bop around.
There are water stations around the park to fill up your own water bottles. Outside the park you have to fill them inside the venues.
Here’s all the stages and venues you can brings kids to:
- All stages at Julia Davis Park (Main Stage, Hideout, Bandshell, The Nest)
- Alefort Lounge
- Basque Center
- Boise Brewing
- Boise Centre
- BCT Boise Contemporary Theater
- Cyclops Stage
- Egyptian Theatre
- Idaho Shakespeare School of Theater
- Idaho State Museum
- JUMP
- Knitting Factory
- Lost Grove Brewing
- Payette Brewing
- Realms Arcade
- Rhodes Skate Park
- Shrine Social Club
- The District
- The Flicks
- The Shredder
- Treefort Music Hall
- Wassmuth Center
- Zoo Boise
Oook that’s all I got for ya! Explore the lineup and more at treefortmusicfest.com.
What bands or events are you most excited about? Next week I compile all the recs into a section in the Thursday newsletter.
Thanks for reading!
With love from Boise,
Marissa
