Boise State students, staff and alumni play a key role in the planning, execution and volunteering of Treefort Music Fest each year. Now in its 11th year and spread across various downtown Boise locations from March 22-26, this year’s festival not only moves its main stage to Boise State’s “backyard” at Julia Davis Park, but will feature students and areas on campus like never before.
Drew Llorona, an alumnus of Boise State’s MBA program, co-founded the festival in 2012. His goal of creating a “multidisciplinary event that’s not just rock ‘n’ roll” continues to shape into an annual blast for people with diverse passions.
Read on for a guide to all things Boise State at this year’s Treefort Music Festival, where arts, storytelling and technology mingle with the creative activity happening in the campus community.
Student performances in the Egyptian theater
Boise State student musicians and composers, 32 in all, will perform at the Boise State Music Department Student Commencement Show at 4:00 pm on Friday, March 24, in the Egyptian Theater. According to Derek Ganong, assistant professor and director of jazz studies, performing on stage as part of the internationally recognized festival is an important career opportunity for these students.
“We are committed to providing professional opportunities and career education to our students,” he said. “Treefort is a platform where professionals from different disciplines come together to work on a project. This is exactly the kind of ‘blue-grass thinking’ opportunity that Boise State strives to provide.”
Immersive events at the Visual Arts Center
The Keith and Catherine Stein Luminary hosts several events in partnership with Treefort. Three exclusive exhibits will be on display from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 22 through Friday, March 24:
- “Resonances” by Ryan Donahue and Saint Monday – creating sound and color by touching screens
- ‘Waveforma’ by Games, Interactive Media and Mobile (GIMM) students Elias Willrup and Preston Valles – creating sound and color through recorded and live music
- “Ephemeral Moves” by alumnus Joseph Haskin (BAF, ’22) – response to gesture and movement
The Blue Galleries, located next to The Luminary in the Visual Arts Center, will be open from noon to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 21 through Sunday, March 26. The galleries display the Juried Student Exhibition and the Biennial Faculty Art Show.
Students will present a new arcade game at Hackfort
A team of GIMM students will present ‘Robot Uprising’, a new arcade game developed in partnership with Spacebar Arcade, at Hackfort from March 23-25. The team is part of the New Product Development Lab — a collaboration between Boise State’s College of Innovation and Design and the College of Engineering — that specializes in programming, 3D modeling, illustration and animation, web development and graphic design.
Parking available on campus
Boise State will offer parking at the Brady Street Garage, located at University Drive and Earle/Brady Streets, for a flat rate of $5 per day to Treefort visitors March 22-26. Additional festival transport can be found in the Treefort 11 guide.
Issuance of a student ticket
Treefort is offering Boise State students a free one-day pass to the main stage. The first 300 students to register will receive an email with details of how to claim their free pass for the day of the festival they wish to attend.