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Leafraker at Treefort Music Fest, Photo by Patrick Sweeney

WHY?, Photo by Jacob Villanueva

Hustle and Drone, Photo by Meghan Kearney

Happy Treefort! Photo by Peter Lovera

04/04/2017

Treefort Music Fest: Thursday Highlights

By MEGHAN KEARNEY // Thursday, March 23 at Treefort Music Fest included favorite sets from Leafraker, WHY?, Hustle and Drone

The second day of Treefort Music Fest was welcomed by a blindingly sunny, warm day in Boise, ID.  The downtown streets lively with fest-goers hopping from venue to venue were shared with busking musicians, carolers, skateboarders, and a free grilled cheese stand.

Thursday’s lineup included Portland favorite Bryson Cone, a solo set from Boise’s own Doug Martsch of Built to Spill, rapidly rising hip-hop artist Open Mike Eagle, punk rocking Chastity Belt, the crazy bucket slapping Americana of Hillstomp, a sweaty, packed house for The Coathangers, and so much more.   

The evening’s biggest highlights started with Leafraker, hip-hop artist from just down the road in Nampa, ID. He took to the stage with a tiny MIDI keyboard, announcing that he had little idea how to play it, but play it he did through a few endearing mishaps and expletives to open his set. An adoring set of fans stared up doe-eyed as he giggled, cleared all of his belongings out of his hoodie pocket and picked up his mic. The rest of the set gave the audience at the El Korah Shrine a non-stop onslaught of beats, and rapping from Leafraker fast enough to wow, but never missing a step.

Next on the list was top-billed WHY?, from Cincinnati, Ohio. Coming to Treefort of the release of their new record Moh Lhean, Yoni Wolf and co. provided the nerdiest of eloquent poetry from the new and the old of WHY?s catalog. Usually a pioneer for awkward but amazing dance moves, Yoni remained on stage alone behind a setup of synths before the full band joined later in the set. The packed Shrine was full of super fans who rhymed along to alliterated lyrics, perhaps the most fun sing-a-long including the Alopecia hit “These Few Presidents.”   

Finally, Portland favorite, Hustle and Drone, wound down (or fired up) the night with a set at The Shredder. Their heavy synths, colorful lighting, and flailing dance moves were enough to keep the entire city of Boise going strong until sunrise. With a new record on the horizon, the night’s audience was treated to a set full of unreleased newbs, mixed in with favorites from Holyland and more.

Thanks to Treefort for the photos, you can check out all photos from the fest on the Treefort Flickr. There’s still time to get out here to Boise and join in on the fest! Find all ticket info, lineup, and schedule at treefortmusicfest.com.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter & Instagram for live updates from the fest @oregonmusicnews

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