If you’ve ever dreamed of playing at one of the most incredible music festivals around, now’s your chance! Treefort Music Fest in Boise, Idaho, is back, and they’re accepting applications for their upcoming fest happening March 26 - 30, 2025.
Treefort Music Fest, founded in 2012, is a multi-day, multi-faceted, city-wide takeover that is equal parts arts discovery and community celebration. Over the years, the festival has gained a reputation for showcasing some of the best regional up-and-coming talent across a wide spectrum of artistic disciplines, including music, film, visual art, comedy, Drag, podcasting, skateboarding, storytelling, technology, food, beer, and even yoga. The festival is also family friendly, hosting kid-friendly activities and performances.
Ready to get started on that application? Click here.
Photo courtesy of Treefort Music Fest
The "Forts" of Treefort Music Fest
The festival is divided into 14 "forts," each showcasing the best national, regional, and local talents. Here is a bit about each.
Musicfort: Their music lineups are known for featuring a diverse range of genres—everything from rock, folk, and hip-hop to electronic, experimental, and world music. They also host Music Talks, which brings the industry's brightest minds together to discuss the future of music and help artists build thriving careers. Whether you are a new artist, an established artist, a hobbyist, a music fan, or an industry insider, all are welcome to participate in the music talks.
Oh, and technically, the music portion is not called "Musicfort," but we wanted them to match; Treefort, please don't be mad at us!
Alefort: Alefort is the craft beverage and food-tasting component of Treefort Music Fest, presenting unique and high-quality food and beverage experiences that illuminate the intersection of local craft beverages and cuisine.
Artfort: A celebration of visual arts, Artfort showcases everything from live art installations and gallery shows to film screenings, providing a creative space for artists to display their work and inspire festival-goers.
Comedyfort: Get ready for laughs! Comedyfort brings stand-up comedians from all over to deliver punchlines and hilarious sets, adding a comedic twist to the festival experience.
Dragfort: A colorful, high-energy celebration of drag culture. Dragfort features dazzling performances by drag queens and kings, creating a welcoming, inclusive space for self-expression and entertainment.
Filmfort: For film enthusiasts, Filmfort screens a variety of independent films, documentaries, and short films, showcasing emerging filmmakers and unique stories across genres.
Foodfort: A culinary destination within the festival, Foodfort brings together local chefs and food vendors to serve up delicious, innovative dishes that celebrate Boise’s vibrant food scene.
Hackfort: A tech-driven fort that explores the intersection of technology, innovation, and creativity. Hackfort features talks, panels, and workshops on everything from coding to gaming and AI.
Podfort: A haven for podcast fans, Podfort features live recordings of popular podcasts, offering a chance to listen to engaging conversations, interviews, and storytelling in real time.
Skatefort: A mix of skate culture and music, Skatefort hosts skateboarding demos and showcases, complete with live music to keep the energy high as skaters show off their skills.
Storyfort: Dive into the world of storytelling with Storyfort. It features live readings, workshops, and talks from writers, poets, and spoken-word artists who share their powerful and creative stories.
Yogafort: A peaceful retreat amid the festival buzz, Yogafort offers yoga classes and wellness workshops led by expert instructors. Stretch, breathe, and reconnect before diving back into the music and arts.
Kidfort: A family-friendly space where kids can explore arts, music, and crafts through hands-on activities and performances, ensuring there’s fun for the whole family at Treefort.
Photo courtesy of Treefort Music Fest
How to Apply to Play at Treefort Music Fest
Ready to throw your hat (or your guitar, drums, etc.) in the ring? Applying is simple, and the festival team is actively looking for fresh talent to book. Don't delay; submissions close on November 24th, 2024.
As the old saying goes, “By failing to plan, you are planning to fail.” That's why we've outlined everything you need to know and have ready to apply, as well as a couple of helpful tips.
What you need to know to Apply for Treefort Music Fest:
All music artists accepted to perform at Treefort Music Fest 2025 will be offered at least one 30-40-minute set at an official venue over the five-day festival.
All accepted artists will receive a minimum of $100 cash (additional travel reimbursement is negotiable), 5-day festival wristbands for each band member ($300 value per wristband), access to Treefort Artist Hospitality Lounge, three guest list spots to the specific show that you play, eternal glory, plus other Treefort good times and perks (like drink tickets, a bag of goodies, and more).
All artists confirmed for Treefort Music Fest will be asked not to play any other shows in the Boise area (100-mile radius) in March 2025 and to announce any other shows in April 2025 and beyond until after their set at the festival.
The radius clause is open to exceptions, but you have to discuss it with them before confirming.
If accepted, the information you submit may be used on Treefort Music Fest's website and various marketing materials.
Selected artists will announced on a rolling basis.
The link to apply is https://treefort.submittable.com/submit
What you’ll need to apply to Treefort Music Fest:
Click one of the options below if you want to skip to a specific section:
Artist/Band Info
What you call your group, troupe or self if you are a solo artist
The city & state you are based out of
Bio
When writing your artist/band bio, it’s essential to keep it concise, engaging, and authentic. Start with a strong opening that grabs attention—think of a hook that highlights your unique sound, recent achievements, or compelling story. Focus on key points like your musical style, well-known artists or bands you sound like, influences, and notable accomplishments, such as performing at major festivals, tours, collaborations, or press. Keep your tone conversational, avoid music or industry jargon, and don't ramble! Don't fancy yourself a writer? Hire one! Whichever approach you take, be sure to keep it under 500 words.
Here's an example written by the awesome Jake Utti (who you can hire to write your bio):
"Chris King & The Gutterballs knows the secret to creative success: movement is key to progress. Whether by a gust of tornado wind or rubber against the road, pushing forward is all there is in a life, buoyed and scarred by love. The band infuses this propelling urgency in all of its performances into its songs, starting with King’s dynamic, uncorked-fire-hydrant voice.
Chris King & The Gutterballs have played at major music festivals, including Treefort (Boise, ID), Off-Beat (Reno, NV), Freakout Festival Seattle, WA), The San Juan County Fair (San Juan Islands, WA), Fisherman's Village (Everett, WA), Filo Fest (Online), Capitol Hill Block Party (Seattle, WA), and more.
The band has released three full-length records, Hidin’ Out in 2014, Cocktails in 2016, and Painwaves in 2019. Since their last full-length release, Chris King & The Gutterballs have released the singles Fantasy Island and Weekend Warrior in 2020, Party With You in 2022, and, most recently, City Love in April of 2023.
They've had the honor of sharing the stage or live stream with national and local acts, including The Growlers, The Quilters, Bob Weir, David Crosby, The Smokey Brights, Acid Tongue, Shaina Shepherd, Tomo Nakayama, The Moondoggies, Silver Triplets of the Rio Hondo, and more. They’ve performed live in-studio on the acclaimed radio station KEXP. In addition, the band was featured on Seattle Channel’s Art Zone with Nancy Guppy and 107.7 The End’s Locals Only radio show."
Genre(s)
You'll need to choose 3 - 5 genres that best describe your group from their prepopulated list. They will use this information to allow fans to sort by genre to help recommend artists, so be as accurate as possible.
Here are the options: Acoustic, Alternative, Ambient, Americana, Bluegrass, Blues, Classical, Country, Dance, DJ, Doom, Dream Pop, Electronic, Experimental, Folk, Funk, Garage, Goth, Hardcore, Heavy, Hip-hop, Indie, Industrial, Jazz, Latin, Lo-fi, Metal, New Wave, Pop, Post-Rock, Psychedelic, Punk, R&B, Rap, Reggae / Ska, Rock, Shoegaze, Singer-Songwriter, Soul, Surf, World, Canada
Spotify Link
This question on the application starts with "WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE LINKING YOUR SPOTIFY" so be sure to link your Spotify! It can be a direct link to your artist profile or a song you want to focus on. They also have slots to add other streaming services such as Apple Music and Bandcamp.
High-resolution Photo
Upload a high quality photo of your band. Make sure it's the one that represents your band best, as it may appear on your Treefort Music Fest artist profile and other promotional materials.
Technical Requirements:
high-resolution image (That is usually at least 2000 pixels across)
1:1 aspect ratio (thats a square!)
Acceptable file types: .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .tif, .tiff, .png
Video Link
You need a link to a video that represents your work, the application states they prefer live videos.
Social Links
The application asks that you submit the full URL for each profile. Here is an example:
Number of Band Members, Names, and Instruments
They want to know how many folks are in your band, their names, and the instrument(s) that they play. Format them with one line per person. Here is an example:
Eddie Vedder – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Mike McCready – Lead guitar
Stone Gossard – Rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Jeff Ament – Bass guitar, backing vocals
Matt Cameron – Drums, backing vocals
Why you want to play Treefort
In a few short words, explain your project, history and future plans and why you'd like to be a part of Treefort Music Fest. They review thousands of applications, so be honest and don't just put what you think they want to hear because they will know.
3 other artists from the City/State that you think should play Treefort Music Fest
This is an awesome opportunity to highlight local bands and music buds you love!
Interested in doing an in-studio session at Radio Boise during your time at Treefort?
Every year at Treefort Music Fest, Boise’s independent community radio station, Radio Boise KRBX 89.9 FM, offers opportunities for bands to perform in their studio during the festival. By clicking yes, you will be added to a list of interested bands submitted to the station and they will be in touch if they would like to offer your band a session.
How you heard about Treefort Music Fest
Select whichever is relevant, but if we sent you be sure to tell them if you get a chance!
Have you played at Treefort Music Fest before?
This one is pretty self-explanatory.
Contact Information
If you're submitting on behalf of a band or artist, please list the best contact for the band. Here is the info you need to provide.
Name (required)
Email Address (required)
Phone Number (required)
Relationship to Band (required)
Management Contact
Booking Agent Contact
Publicity Contact
Label Contact
And that's it! Good luck, and even if you don't get accepted, you've now collected information that is commonly requested by most music festival applications, so either way, it's a good use of your time. Hope to see you there!