Treefort Music Fest wrapped up in the early morning hours Monday. More than 260 indie and emerging bands performed at the four day festival. Festival director Eric Gilbert is calling the event's second year a big success, despite being exhausted.
"Losing my voice a little bit, not a lot of sleep, but I'm feeling good -- body's sore," Gilbert says.
Gilbert says the festival doubled -- if not tripled -- in size this year. There weren’t many issues, except for some long lines to get into shows. And the fact that 100 people were turned away from seeing the band Foxygen Thursday night.
Despite that, Gilbert has mostly heard positive feedback. He says even the critiques have a rosy side.
"People are initially bummed they can't get into something so they go and see something they wouldn't have otherwise," he says. "And then they've been surprised by bands that they hadn't planned to see. It's a win-win situation."
Gilbert says one highlight this year was having the El Korah Shriners host shows.
"It's been fun to see our community and their community co-mingle," says Gilbert. "And the people from out-of-town are like, 'This is amazing! I've never been to a festival where there's 75-year-old people selling drink tokens to me.' "
Gilbert has also been impressed by the grit shown by everyone who dealt with the chilly March weather. He points to the outdoor show on Friday night with Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings.
"One of my favorite parts of her show was when she just ripped off her coat and was like, 'I can take this, I can hang!' "
This year, the number of bands playing Treefort Music Fest nearly doubled. More than 260 bands were featured throughout a dozen downtown locations. Organizers added more venues, and more local food and beer vendors.
Copyright 2013 Boise State Public Radio
