Potatoes. That is, invariably, what a huge number of people think of when they are asked to say something about Boise, Idaho. Despite Boise’s long history of popping up on many “Top 10” lists throughout the years, people still pretend to not know anything else about Boise, Idaho.
For locals traveling across the country, one of the more common responses to stating that they live in Boise, Idaho tends to go something like this:
“Oh, Iowa?”
Or, “Ohio, that sounds nice.”
It can be a bit of a sore subject for many Idahoans, being mistaken for more eastern but similarly named states, especially when they know they’re one of the best unintentionally kept secrets in the United States, perhaps even the world. Idahoans know that, while the potatoes are indeed fantastic, Boise is an emerging hub of outstanding art, fine literary writing, gut-busting comedy, delectable cuisine, and of course, the music.
Starved For Entertainment (In A Good Way)
Boise, and to an extent the entire state of Idaho, lives in the shadows of the areas surrounding it. The perennially hip Pacific Northwest cities of Seattle and Portland are American cultural icons and the settings of numerous films, television shows, novels, and more. Much of this is to do with their amazing music scenes that attract huge acts from across the U.S. and even the world at large.
Even though Boise is the 15th fastest growing city in the U.S. many of the larger and more mainstream musical acts tend to skip over Boise in favor of larger cities in the surrounding states. This move might be a missed opportunity for those musicians as it is incredibly easy to sell out venues of any size in Boise. And, if a band or musician is touring by bus, Boise is a convenient stop between some of the larger cities.
The music fans in Boise, of which there are many, have an eclectic mix of tastes from grindcore to jazz, folk, funk, hip-hop and everything in between. Basically, any band is bound to have quite a few fans in the City of Trees due to this love of various musical genres. And since Boiseans regularly have to travel to see a lot of their favorite bands play, when one of them does roll through, fans are quick to get their tickets.
Love of recreation in all forms from live music to comedy and outdoor sporting runs deep in Boise’s culture. One of the major reasons that Boise is growing so quickly is that people want to move for the relatively low cost of living compared to other large cities, pleasant weather, and recreational activities that the city has to offer. On any given weekend throughout the year, bands — both local and not — can be found playing in bars like The Neurolux, Humpin’ Hannah’s and Pengilly’s Saloon or dedicated music venues like The Knitting Factory, The Shredder, or The Olympic. Each of these bars and venues have a distinct vibe, and while there is no real hard and fast rule that dictates what type of music is played, artists tend to gravitate towards venues that share their aesthetic.
Boise is more than just amazing skiing to rival its neighbor in Park City, Utah (yeah, I said it). The music scene in Boise might not be the largest in the Northwest, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in passion from both the musicians and fans that it is comprised of.
The Community Is Tight-Knit
Playing and listening to music has major health benefits like reducing blood pressure and calming nerves, which essentially makes Boise one big health clinic. The amount of local talent on display in Boise is staggering, much of which comes from the fact that the music community is, in general, incredibly supportive. Local bands just starting out don’t have much difficulty when it comes to making the jump from the garage to the stage as most of the smaller venues in Boise not only don’t mind putting new talent up, but actually seem to relish in it.
Over the years, Boise has produced several bands and musicians that have reached national and international success and acclaim. Most notably:
- Paul Revere and The Raiders, who achieved mainstream success in the 60s and 70s with songs like “Hungry” and “Kicks.”
- Built to Spill, Boise’s popular indie-rock darlings.
- Trever Powers, who up until 2016 performed as Youth Lagoon, who’s experimental and dreamy indie-pop earned them critical acclaim.
- Magic Sword, the psychedelic synth-funk-punk band, whose identities are steeped in mystery (if you don’t regularly go to their shows), are known locally for their theatrical, impromptu performances, often conducted from the back of a flatbed truck, that last only a few minutes before being shut down by the local police. Recently, their song “In The Face Of Evil” appeared in the trailer for Thor: Ragnarok.
Commercial success is, of course, always nice for a band to achieve, but many of the most inventive and exciting musicians based in Boise fly largely under the radar despite their immense talents. These local acts are among some of the best talent that Boise has to offer. Boise’s local best are as follows:
- Bright Old Giant (formerly Red Hands Black Feet), a sludgy, doomy post-rock band that deals almost exclusively in conceptual albums that are cinematic in their scope.
- Dirt Russell, an energetic duo that blends and bends genres, though post-hardcore is an adept if lacking classification.
- Hillfolk Noir, Boise’s self-proclaimed “Junkerdash” musicians, are a blend of punk, bluegrass, and folk.
- The Dirty Moogs, a synth-heavy dance-pop band, as the name would suggest, that forces listeners’ to shake their hips to incredibly fun songs like “Tight Tight Pants.”
- Finn Riggins, Boise’s hardest working and arguably most important rock band. Member Eric Gilbert is a founding member of both Treefort and Duck Club, the latter of which is responsible for regularly booking many of the more interesting out of town musicians.
- Sun Blood Stories, who describe their sound as “high desert psych fuzz,” put on some of the most shattering and intense live shows anywhere.
- Wild Spells, an atmospheric doom rock band that has no difficulty grabbing the attention of an audience and taking them for a crazy ride.
- Clarke and the Himselfs, a one-piece band that avoids accusations of gimmickry by producing heartfelt, amazing songs dripping with talent.
One of the reasons that the Boise music scene is so close-knit and supportive is that many of the members of local bands work at the same restaurants, companies, bars, and more. Throw a rock in downtown Boise and you’re more than likely to hit a musician upside the head, though I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.
Boise isn’t the biggest place in the world, and the musicians here understand that it only helps the scene to be kind and supportive to everyone within it. Music is therapeutic and it brings people together, nowhere more so than in Boise, Idaho. Genre, social groups, age, basically everything that might set musicians apart melts away when it comes to helping their fellow musicians in Boise.
Movin’ On Up
Despite Boise’s reputation as a sleepy mid-sized city in the mountain west, in recent years the music scene in Boise has received a good amount of coverage in the national news. The reason for this recent uptick in interest for the Boise music scene can be traced to the rise of Idaho’s largest music festival, Treefort.
The Treefort Music Fest is an incredibly unique music festival experience in a variety of different ways. Interestingly, Treefort doesn’t take place in an open desert plain or huge field somewhere; instead, it’s completely enveloped in downtown Boise for the duration of its five-day run. Nearly every venue capable of hosting music is involved in Treefort in order to accommodate the more than 400 bands that come to play the festival each year. It is, and it cannot be stressed enough, an overwhelming musical experience.
Since Treefort’s inception in 2012, the festival has focused on musical exploration in lieu of attracting the biggest names in the music scene. Instead of pursuing headliners that might bring in the crowds, Treefort organizers find a beautiful balance of quantity and quality to bring music lovers from around the world to Boise. Local and regional bands are a huge focal point, and Treefort organizers make a point to seek out up and coming national and international talent as well, (the amazingly talented Lizzo played the festival in 2017, as an example). This tactic not only keeps booking costs down but allows attendees to experience a litany of music that they may have otherwise never heard.
The home-grown feeling of Treefort is palpable and entirely by design. While most of the large music festivals around the country are stamped with corporate sponsorships everywhere attendees look, Boise’s Treefort relies on local support from small businesses, the Idaho tourism board, and recently Boise State University.
Even in the early years, Treefort was never really just a music festival. While Treefort is the overarching and driving force, many other smaller “forts” are held under the Treefort umbrella. For the most part, it is fairly obvious what the minor sub-forts are intended for based solely on their names. There is Alefort for the beer lovers, Yogafort for aspiring yogis, Foodfort which showcases the relatively small but incredibly tasty food truck scene in Boise, Storyfort for the many talented and aspiring writers in the area, Comedyfort, Kidfort, Filmfort, Skatefort, and even a tech conference dubbed Hackfort.
Treefort exists not only to inspire music fans to seek out the new but to enrich attendees in as many ways as they might want. The creation of Treefort has been a boon to both the music scene in Boise and the entire city itself, bringing in thousands of attendees who then get to experience all the city has to offer.
It should be noted that Treefort, for all its glory, is far from the only musically inclined festival in and around Boise. There is the Boise Music Festival which tends to focus on bringing in bigger (if not slightly past their prime) musical acts, the most recent headliner being Tone Loc of “Wild Thing” fame. The Boise Pride Festival often features local LGBTQ musicians with the goal of celebrating all love and increasing education about safe sex practice. Finn Riggins also hosts Ranch Fest, an invitational festival every year in the fictional town of Tumbleweeds, weather permitting.
The bottom line when it comes to the Boise music scene is that it really is a wonderful little community. Closely bonded without being insular, experimental without falling into pretension, and overall just an immense amount of fun. If you’re looking to plan a trip to Boise for any reason other than the beautiful scenery, excellent food, beautiful art or friendly people, coming for the music isn’t a bad choice.
At the end of the day, the music scene in Boise, Idaho is anything but small potatoes.
Courtesy of Indiana Lee
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