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HERE IT IS: BW’s Very Exclusive (and Unofficial) Guide to Treefort Music Fest 2019 We dish on must-see music acts and climb the ladder to other “forts.”
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2 | MARCH 13–19, 2019 | BOISEWEEKLY
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EDITOR’S NOTE FORT-IFIED The 2018 edition of Treefort Music Fest was its biggest to date, but there’s every indication that this year’s festival will see even higher numbers. “Ticket sales are up,” Treefort Co-founder Megan Stoll told BW. This week’s issue is all about Treefort, and though it’s impossible to preview every performance, panel discussion, film screening, lecture, beer tasting, dinner and yoga session, we think our unofficial guide to this year’s forts is pretty swell. Music guru Ben Schultz kicks things off for us on page 5 with his personal playlist, a great primer for some of the most-anticipated (and a few under-the-radar) performers over the festival’s five-day stretch. BW contributor Skylar Barsanti is up next with a preview of Yogafort, where organizers promise “absolute awesomeness.” That’s on page 6. Then, BW contributor Henry Coffey will coax us to visit Hackfort on page 8, which promoters remind isn’t just another tech conference. “It’s more open to people who are excited about technology,” said Marketing Director Mike Taylor. BW’s food journalist extraordinaire Lex Nelson has a made a reservation for us on page 9, where she previews Foodfort by interviewing incoming Chef Bonnie Morales. Lex is particularly excited for Morales’ “A Night at Kachka,” an evening of Russian delicacies. Next, on page 12, I sit down with the aforementioned Megan Stoll to talk about the festival’s humble beginnings and how it has grown over the years. On pages 10 and 11, BW’s Harrison Berry has a couple of Storyfort previews. First, he’ll tell us about something called “The Human Library,” where attendees can “check out” people in order to hear their life stories. Next, he profiles Reema Zaman, a Storyfort guest who will wax poetic on her memoir, I Am Yours. I’ll be back on page 17 to preview Filmfort, which has new homes this year: the Hilton Garden Inn at the foot of the Boise Connector and the Red Feather Cellar. But the true piece de resistance of this week’s issue is a kitschy, fun pull-out Treefort survival guide, crafted by the amazing Ashley Roshtish on pages 13 through 16. Don’t skip it. —George Prentice, Editor
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BOISEWEEKLY.COM What you missed this week in the digital world.
COURTESY RE-POP GIF TS
WHAT’S POPPIN’? RE-POP, THE ALL-THINGS POP- CULTURE SHOP THAT HAS OPER ATED JUST OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN BOISE FOR FOUR YE ARS, IS PL ANNING A MOVE DOWNTOWN. IT WILL TAKE OVER THE OLD 10TH STREE T LO CATION OF TRIP TAYLOR BOOKSELLER. IF ALL GOES AS PL ANNED, RE-POP WILL BE A DOWNTOWN MERCHANT BY E ARLY APRIL. RE AD MORE AT ARTS & CULTURE/ CULTURE. BYE BYE, BLUE Owner Ted Challenger says there will be “nothing left” of downtown mainstay China Blue when the redesigned space reopens in early June under a new name. Read more at Arts & Culture/Culture.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE Restaurateur Ashley Syms says the plan for A Cafe, soon to open on 10th Street, is a pared-down menu of salads, sandwiches and a few breakfast items. Read more at Food & Drink/Food News.
SECOND COURSE The owners of The Wylder in Boise’s Central Addition neighborhood now have plans for the North End. That’s where they’ll open Certified Kitchen + Bakery this summer. Read more at Food & Drink/Food News.
OPINION
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NOISE VARI O U S SO U RC ES . S E E B O I S E WE E KLY. C O M .
STORMING THE FORTS BW music guru Ben Schultz’s Treefort Hit List BEN SCHULTZ Hardcore Treeforters know that no itinerary or schedule ever survives the festival. The joy of the festival lies partly in happy accidents and discoveries. With this in mind, the following list of recommended sets and acts shouldn’t— and probably couldn’t—be followed slavishly. Instead, readers should use it as a starting point and see where the festival’s five days take them.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20 • Noon, The Owyhee: Border Stories – Modern Imagination • 1:30 p.m., The Owyhee: The Human Library – Conversations Beyond Stereotypes • 3 p.m., The Owyhee: We Choose All of Us – Stories Toward Liberation It’s fitting that this year’s Treefort should start with these three Storyfort panels. Implicitly, the festival has encouraged exploration and openmindedness since its inception. These stories and discussions concerning immigration, stereotypes and victims of violence should provide plenty of food for thought over the next five days and beyond. • 5 p.m., Tenth Street Station: That Was Epic – Stories of Failure, Folly, Fandom & F a.m.e To quote John Cleese, “And now for something completely different.” Festival-goers seeking something more lighthearted than the panels mentioned above might enjoy these tales of triumph and misadventure told by local artists. • 7:20 p.m., Neurolux: ESC Dale Hiscock crafts intricate, winsome dre a.m.-pop with guitar, synthesizers and looping software that he personally developed.
• 11:30 p.m., Linen Building: Doe (or 11:30 p.m., Grainey’s Basement: Possessive) • Midnight, Tom Grainey’s: Tylor & the Train Robbers (or 12:10 a.m., The Shredder: The Guardians of Virginity)
THURSDAY, MARCH 21 • 4:20 p.m., Main Stage: Liz Cooper & The St a.m.pede • 5 p.m., Neurolux: Lucid Aisle • 5:40 p.m., Main Stage: The Suffers (or 5:50 p.m., Boise Contemporary Theater: Tispur) • 6:10 p.m., Linen Building: Blood Lemon This new local rock group is a trio of heavy hitters: Finn Riggins singer-guitarist Lisa Simpson, Marshall Poole singer-bassist Melanie Radford and Tambalka drummer Lindsey Lloyd. • 7 p.m., The Owyhee: Why Podcasting Sucks and Why We Still Love It • 8 p.m., The District: Anna Tivel • 8:50 p.m., Hannah’s: Wildermiss (or 8:40 p.m., Main Stage: Black Mountain) • 9:30 p.m., Grainey’s Basement: DRUG APTS • 10 p.m., Fatty’s: Jack Burton This local DJ—who takes his name from the hero of the 1986 cult classic film Big Trouble in Little China—is one of two Treefort 2019 acts to take their name from Kurt Russell (the other is local hard rock duo Dirt Russell, whose set at the Boise All-Ages Movement Project on Saturday is worth checking out, too). He merits a look based on the name alone. • 10:20 p.m., The Funky Taco: Ryan Peck (or 10:20 p.m., Linen Building: Mostly Muff)
• 8 p.m., Knitting Factory: JPEGMAFIA (or 8:30 p.m., Grainey’s Basement: CRY)
• 11:30 p.m., Spacebar: Small Million
• 9:30 p.m., Linen Building: CMMNWLTH
• 12:30 a.m., The Olympic: Juice
• 10:30 p.m., El Korah Shrine: Lounge on Fire • 11 p.m., The Shredder: J a.m.es Plane Wreck Even dedicated local scenesters might not remember James Plane Wreck, which played its last show in 2014. Its raucous fusion of punk and country is worth revisiting (or discovering): Between Aaron Smith’s sharply observed lyrics and Andrew Bagley’s powerhouse drumming, this was one of Boise’s best rock groups of that time. BOISE WEEKLY.COM
Music writer Ben Schultz has picked out some of the must-see acts from this year’s Treefort Music Fest 2019.
• 5:20 p.m., Pengilly’s Saloon: Lee Penn Sky (or 5:20 p.m., The Shredder: Get Wet+) • 6:40 p.m., El Korah Shrine: Farao • 7:50 p.m., The Olympic: Cy Dune • 8:30 p.m., Main Stage: Liz Phair • 9 p.m., Boise All-Ages Movement Project: queen boychild (or 9 p.m., Linen Building: CJ Boyd)
• 7 p.m., Knitting Factory: Western Daughter • 8:30 p.m., Main Stage: Angelique Kidjo’s Remain In Light Kidjo has been acclaimed for her omnivorous music and stalwart activism. This headlining set features her interpretation of the classic 1980 Talking Heads album. • 10:30 p.m., Knitting Factory: a.m.erican Football
• 10 p.m., Linen Building: Sun Blood Stories (or 10:10 p.m., The Olympic: Marshall Poole) Now here’s a dilemma: Which of Boise’s premier young rock bands do you see? The answer will depend on whether you’re in the mood for dark, menacing psychedelia (Sun Blood Stories) or limber, upbeat hard rock (Marshall Poole).
• 12:10 a.m., The Reef: Nappy Roots
• 11 p.m., Linen Building: EMA
• 1 p.m., Main Stage: Nick Delffs
• 12:10 a.m., The Funky Taco: Dandu
• 2 p.m., Main Stage: Sera Cahoone and Band (or 2 p.m., Boise All-Ages Movement Project: buttstuff)
SATURDAY, MARCH 23
• 12:40 a.m., Spacebar: Dedicated Servers (or 12:40 a.m., Grainey’s Basement: Spiritual Warfare and the Greasy Shadows)
SUNDAY, MARCH 24
• 12:40 p.m., Main Stage: Bells Atlas
• 4:30 p.m., Main Stage: Rubblebucket (or 4:30 p.m., Linen Building: Chief Broom)
• 1:50 p.m., Main Stage: Y La Bamba
• 7 p.m., The Olympic: Slang
• 11 a.m., Basque Center: Bonnie Morales food demo
• 3:20 p.m., PreFunk: Haviah Mighty
• 8:20 p.m., Neurolux: The Hoot Hoots
• 4:30 p.m., El Korah Shrine: Transistor Send
• Noon, The Owyhee: Idaho Reports live (or noon, The Owyhee: Telling It Strange – Fabulism, Fairy Tales and Weird Worlds)
• 9:20 p.m., El Korah Shrine: Ava Luna
• 5:30 p.m., The Shredder: Mountains Like Tidal Waves
• 10:40 p.m., Neurolux: The French Tips
FRIDAY, MARCH 22
• 4:30 p.m., The Owyhee: This is Wack – Why Isn’t Idaho Hip Hop Taken Seriously? (or 4:30 p.m., Boise Contemporary Theater: Wend)
• 6 p.m., Boise All-Ages Movement Project: Dirt Russell (or 6 p.m., Knitting Factory: Stepbrothers) • 6:40 p.m., Basque Center: Cedric Burnside
• 11 p.m., Boise All-Ages Movement Project: Terror Pigeon Terror Pigeon is worth rallying for. The Nashvillebased project’s quirky, joyous dance-pop was a highlight of Treefort’s 2013, 2014 and 2016. BOISEWEEKLY | MARCH 13–19, 2019 | 5