In partnership with Tamarack Resort

The hills are alive with the sound of… Oktoberfest! Join Tamarack Resort for an Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday, September 30. Enjoy seasonal Oktoberfest beers from some of Idaho’s finest breweries, German food, games & authentic German music by Wolfie and the Bavarian. Be sure to get there early to get your commemorative beer stein.

Bring the fam & celebrate Oktoberfest at Tamarack Resort!

Flipside Fest is next weekend! Are you going?

Flipside Fest is a multi-venue music and arts festival happening in Garden City on Friday, Sept 22 through Sunday, Sept 24.

Flipside is put on by Duck Club Entertainment, which is the organization that puts on Treefort Music Fest in March and has shows every week at various venues in downtown Boise. This year, Duck Club also opened Treefort Music Hall and Hap Hap Lounge, and took over the historic El Korah Shrine building and rebranded it to Shrine Social Club, where they’ve been holding shows in the main ballroom and in the basement.

Duck Club created Flipside Fest in 2022. To find out more about Flipside and why Duck Club decided to add another festival to its repertoire, I chatted with Eric Gilbert. Gilbert is the co-founder and director of Flipside, Treefort, and Duck Club, and he’s the guy that books bands for Duck Club's festivals and shows.

Gilbert said that at its core, Flipside is a scene building exercise. “It's more of a localized version [of Treefort]. It’s celebrating the local scene in a different way,” said Gilbert. “And it's also just kind of a fun project for us. With Treefort, we're actively trying to appeal to a broader audience and we involve a lot of other things. Flipside is a little bit more of us just kind of doing what sounds fun.”

Gilbert also added that Flipside is an opportunity for Duck Club to have a festival in September and to work with Garden City partners, like Visual Arts Collective and Surel’s Place, who haven’t been as involved in Treefort over the years due to proximity.

Murals at Flipside 2022, photo by @cdigi_

Flipside is essentially a baby Treefort Music Fest. Last year, at the inaugural Flipside, I heard many festival attendees comment that it felt like the first Treefort, which took place in March 2012. In comparison, Flipside 2023 is three days and has 105 artists playing at 13 venues, with a dozen or so art and skateboarding events happening over the weekend. Treefort 2023 was five days and had 500+ artists and 13 forts, each bringing 50-100 additional artists and performers, with events happening at 60+ venues throughout downtown Boise.

One big similarity between Flipside and Treefort is the multi-venue festival model. Duck Club favors the multi-venue model to promote discovery of artists and the city/neighborhoods in which the festivals take place.

Gilbert comes from the touring band scene – his band, Finn Riggins, toured the country playing 200+ shows a year in the early 2000s – and that experience has informed many elements that make Treefort and Flipside different from other festivals.

“From a band's perspective – especially for a bunch of smaller touring acts – it's a great way to actually slow down and be around other touring bands. There's a lot of community building amongst bands with the multi-venue thing,” said Gilbert. “Another cool way the multi-venue model works is that people come to see a certain band, but end up experiencing an artist they aren’t familiar with before or after the set they came to see.”

He also added that a lot of people love to experience music in smaller spaces, so instead of putting fewer bands in one big space, Duck Club prefers to put a lot of bands in a lot of small spaces. Which is precisely what you can expect at Flipside Fest 2023.

Dehd on the Flipside Main Stage 2022, photo by @ariannakharizz

Flipside guide

Here's alllll the important info to know:

Tickets

Tickets for Flipside are available right meow. Here's the details:

GA tickets are $99 and gets you into all events and afterparties over the three days
Single-day tickets are$49 for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday
Kids age 4 and under are free
Find Flipside tickets online here
You can also buy tickets onsite

Flipside Box Office is located outside of Main Stage and VAC (3638 Osage St, Garden City). You can pick up or purchase tickets at Box Office. Here's the hours:

Friday, September 22 1pm-10pm
Saturday, September 23 1pm-10pm
Sunday, September 24 1pm-9pm

Wazumbians at Flipside 2022, photo by @picturetakerdude

Venues

Something that I love about Flipside's venues is that they are all outside! Last year it was pretty hot, not gonna lie, but this year the weather looks absolutely spectacular. 75 and sunny, baby!

Here's the list of Flipside venues, plus some helpful info:

Flipside Main Stage

3638 Osage St, Garden City (VAC parking lot)
Music Fri 4-10pm, Sat 1-10pm, Sun 1-10pm
All ages
Drinks, full bar (inside VAC), food trucks

Visual Arts Collective

Main Stage is in the parking lot, afterparties + bar is inside
DJs Fri 9:30pm-2am, Sat 10pm-2am, Sun 10pm-12am
21+
Full bar

Barbarian Brewing

114 E 32nd St, Garden City
Music Fri 4-11pm, Sat 2:30-11pm, Sun 3-10pm
All ages
Outdoor
Beer, wine, NA, food trucks

Spaceport

112 E 33rd Street, Garden City
Music Fri 5-9:30pm, Sat 4-9:30pm
All ages
Beer, wine, NA
Outdoor (+ fire pit!)

Wepa Cafe

175 E 35th St, Garden City
DJs Fri 6-10pm, Sat 3-10pm
All ages
Outdoor
Food, beer, wine, NA

Push & Pour

214 E 34th St, Garden City
Music Fri 5:30pm-12am, Sat 2pm-2am, Sun 3-10pm
All ages
Outdoors
Coffee, beer, wine, NA

Somewhere Bar

3544 W Chinden Blvd, Garden City
Afterparties and drag shows happening Fri & Sat 10pm-2am
21+
Full bar

Coiled Wines

3408 W Chinden Blvd, Garden City
Music Fri-Sat 4-10pm
All ages
Outdoor
Beer, wine, NA

Parking lot show at Coiled, photo by Ted Harmon

Sandbar

2900 W Chinden Blvd, Garden City (greenbelt side of Riverside Hotel)
Music Fri 5-8pm, Sat 1-8pm, Sun 5-8pm
All ages
Outdoor
Food & full bar

The Drop

300 E 35th Street, Garden City
Music Fri 6-10pm, Sat 5-10pm,
All ages
Outdoors

Roots Zero Waste Market & Vervain Collective

3308 W Chinden Blvd, Garden City
Music and DJs Sat 11am-7pm, Sun 11am-7pm
All ages
Indoor & outdoor
Food, beer, wine, NA

Surel's Place

212 E 33rd St, Garden City
Music Fri 6-8pm, Sat 3-8pm
Art Talks Sat 10am-2pm
All ages
Outdoor
Beer, wine, food trucks
Read my story about Surel's Place, I wrote it in this house :)

New & cool stuff

Art installations will be all over the Flipside Fest footprint. A few highlights:

Osage "Illuminated!" - art that lights the way along the main pedestrian and cycling path on Osage Street between 33rd and 36th, and will be visible from 7:30-11pm Friday- Sunday of Flipside.
Carving Paths: Anticipation to Gratitude - art inspired by the pandemic, nature and the spiritual experience of Boise artist Gretchen Weitemier will be visible in the gallery at Surel's Place (212 E. 33rd Street) on Friday, Sept 22 from 5:30-8pm and Saturday, Sept 23 from 3:30-8pm.
GreenBox installation will be open on Carr Street between E 33rd & 34th Streets on Friday, Sept 22 from 5:30-8pm and Saturday, Sept 23 from 3:30-8pm.

Artist Talks, hosted by Surel’s Place & Garden City Placemaking Fund, will take place in the backyard garden at Surel's Place (212 E. 33rd Street) on Saturday, Sept 23rd from 10am-2pm. Talks will explore the creative economy, including “Why is our creative community so important,” “Building a creative community — two examples of organizing in action,” and “Maintaining a creative community amid gentrification and change.” All of the Artist Talks are free!

Junkside Flipjam is a skate invitational junk jam brought to you by Prestige Skateshop. It's happening on Saturday, Sept 23 on Carr Street between 34th & 33rd, near Push & Pour. It's free to watch!

The Common Well’s Clothesline Art Sale is happening in the gravel lot across the street from Push & Pour on Friday, Sept 22 from 5:30-8:30pm, Saturday, Sept 23 from 12-8pm, and Sunday, Sept 24 from 2:30-6pm. The Clothesline Art Sale is an effort to expand the population of art collectors in our community by offering original art at a steal. Hundreds of pieces of affordable, unframed, original art by local artists will be for sale plus free workshops each day.

Flipside Flea Market, hosted by the Boise Flea, is happening on 34th Street between Carr and Clay streets on Saturday, Sept 23 from 12-8pm.

Murals in progress at Flipside 2022, photo by @grahamwbell

Sponsored by Visit Southwest Idaho

Out of Town Tip

Here’s three cool places to go mountain biking:

Wilson Creek trail system in the Owyhees is a great place for fall/winter riding. It’s a great change of pace from Ridge to Rivers.

Jug Mountain Ranch has a whole trail system with trails for beginner to expert. You could easily spend a weekend riding Jug Mountain.

Payette Lake Trail is a new multi-year project to create a trail system around all of Payette Lake & you can now ride the first completed section! Make the most of your trip by spending a few days exploring the trails & towns. I also recommend visiting McCall mid-week to dodge weekend crowds.

Find places to stay & more things to do in McCall here and find more places to mountain bike in Southwest Idaho here!

Flipside schedule

The Flipside schedule can be found on the Flipside App (aka the Treefort app), which you can download from the Apple store or Google Play store. On the app you can make your own schedule and share it with friends, find map directions to each venue, and listen to the lineup. I also wrote out the schedule for you :) here ya go:

FRIDAY, SEPT 22

4pm: Roller Dome at Main Stage
4:30pm: Boise Rock School at Coiled Wine
4:40pm: JÜN at Barbarian Brewing
5pm: Death's Dynamic Shroud at Main Stage
5:20pm: Moon Reservoir at Coiled Wine
5:20pm: Canyon Kids at Spaceport
5:50pm: Cigarette Speedway at Push & Pour
6p: We Are You at The Drop
6pm: Bittermint at Barbarian Brewing
6-10pm: Tropico FM at Wepa Cafe
6:20pm: Roar at Main Stage
6:30pm: Sheep Bridge Jumpers at Spaceport
6:40pm: Nuppeppo at Coiled Wine
7pm: Mylo Bybee at The Drop
7pm: Wet Pet at Push & Pour
7:20pm: 26fix at Barbarian Brewing
7:40pm: Frost Children at Main Stage
8pm: Bone Haus at Coiled Wine
8pm: Lonesome Jetboat Ramblers at Spaceport
8pm: Strangelily at The Drop
8:10pm: Papas at Push & Pour
8:20pm: Harmless at Barbarian Brewing
9pm: George Clanton at Main Stage
9:10pm: Ryan Curtis at The Drop
9:20pm: Crush The Monster at Coiled Wine
9:20pm: The Bomb Pulse at Push & Pour
9:30pm: Kanders10 at VAC
9:40pm: Babe Rainbow at Barbarian Brewing
10pm-2am: Flipside Afterparty at Somewhere
10:30pm: Cdigi & Friends at VAC
10:40pm: Floating Witch's Head at Push & Pour
12am: De Lux (Dj Set) at VAC
1am: Rahkeem at VAC

SATURDAY, SEPT 23

10-11am: Art Talk at Surel's Place - Why is our creative community so important?
11am-1pm: Art Talk at Surel's Place - Building a creative community — two examples of organizing in action
1-2pm: Art Talk at Surel's Place - Maintaining a creative community amid gentrification and change
1-4pm: Various Lazy at Sandbar
1:30pm: Mandias at Main Stage
2:20pm: Tyrus Newell Into Data Lake at Push & Pour
2:30pm: Causeway at Barbarian Brewing
2:50pm: The Red Pears at Main Stage
3pm: Sove The Second at Surel’s Place
3:30pm: Rat Champion at Push & Pour
3:30pm: Angel Abaya at Barbarian Brewing
3-10pm: Tropico FM at Wepa Cafe
4pm: Boise Rock School at Coiled Wine
4pm: Bo Elledge at Spaceport
4pm: Mckenna Esteb at Surel’s Place
4:10pm: Spoon Benders at Main Stage
4:40pm: 60 Juno at Push & Pour
5-8pm: Turtle Poppers at Sandbar
5pm: Petal Party at Coiled Wine
5pm: Bailey Allen Baker at Spaceport
5pm: Kale Brown at The Drop
5pm: Jeff Crosby at Barbarian Brewing
5pm: St. Terrible at Surel’s Place
5pm: Jesse Blake Rundle at Telaya Wine
5:30pm: Iguana Death Cult at Main Stage
5:40pm: Mexican Slum Rats at Push & Pour
6pm: David Henry at Spaceport
6pm: Talon Smartt at The Drop
6pm: Mungo at Surel’s Place
6:20pm: Trippy Hearts at Coiled Wine
6:30pm: Pixie And The Partygrass Boys at Barbarian Brewing
6:50pm: Porcelain Tongue at Push & Pour
7pm: Chai at Main Stage
7pm: Nick Delffs at Spaceport
7pm: Gipsy Moonrise at The Drop
7:10pm: Wend at Surel’s Place
7:40pm: Rodeo Screams at Coiled Wine
8pm: Cactus Moon at The Drop
8pm: Trauma Kit at Push & Pour
8pm: Mauvey at Barbarian Brewing
8:10pm: Hillfolk Noir at Spaceport
8:45pm: The Walkmen at Main Stage
9pm: Aterrima at Push & Pour
9:10pm: Ealdor Bealu at Coiled Wine
9:10pm: High Pine Whiskey Yell at The Drop
9:40pm: Magic Sword at Barbarian Brewing
10pm: Orographic at VAC
10:10pm: Black Spring at Push & Pour
11pm: Club Chow at VAC
11pm: Chief Broom at Push & Pour
1am: Nancy Boy at VAC

SUNDAY, SEPT 24

1:30pm: Aka Belle at Main Stage
2:40pm: Mall Goth Moths at Main Stage
3pm: Xox at Push & Pour
3pm: The Mad Cap Laughs at Barbarian Brewing
3pm: Darian Renee at Telaya Wine
3:40pm: Healing Potpourri at Main Stage
4pm: Enigma Machine at Push & Pour
4:20pm: Bet On Red at Barbarian Brewing
5pm: Moon Owl's Mages at Main Stage
5pm: No Can Fly at Push & Pour
5pm: Bill Coffey & His Cash Money Cousins at Sandbar
5:30pm: Sunsmith at Barbarian Brewing
6pm: Plum Vision at Push & Pour
6:20pm: The Shivas at Main Stage
7pm: Sego at Barbarian Brewing
7:10pm: Blix at Push & Pour
7:40pm: Cable Ties at Main Stage
8:20pm: Frankie Tillo at Push & Pour
8:40pm: Eggy at Barbarian Brewing
9pm: The Regrettes at Main Stage
9:20pm: The Band Ice Cream at Push & Pour
10pm-12am: Bodie Lee at VAC (21+)

Tips & things to know

Parking

Garden City is a weird mix of residential, businesses, and industrial buildings. This makes the parking situation weird. If you can, the best way to get to Flipside is ride a bike/skateboard/scooter, ride the bus, or get dropped off.

If you are planning to drive and park, DO NOT PARK at The Riverside Hotel, Stagecoach Inn, or in the parking lot of Esther Simplot Park. You'll have to find street parking, but be very mindful of neighbors!