This year’s Treefort turned a profit for the first time since 2019. The economic impact of the five-day spring music festival in downtown Boise is also on the rise.
A report released by the Idaho Policy Institute in partnership with Treefort Music Fest estimates the 2025 event injected $15.8 million into the economy and generated about $1.4 million in local and federal taxes.
“Not only is this the first year in a while that they've been in the black, but economically they're having a really positive impact on both the region and the state as a whole,” said professor Vanessa Fry at the Boise State University School of Public service and author of the report.
“There are just under 130 jobs that were directly supported by Treefort, and the labor income associated with those jobs is about $4.7 million,” she said, adding service industry workers and local businesses benefited the most from this boost. “So that's a pretty good amount of economic impact that we wouldn't see without Treefort being here.”
Fry said about 47% of attendees are out-of-towners who spend more on hotels, transportation and food.
“Those people that we are drawing into the region are going to be responsible for more than half the economic impact of the fest,” she said.
The festival was profitable for the first time since the pandemic, helping backfill the losses from the pandemic era and the increase in costs that came with the event’s move to Julia Davis park in 2023.
“We actually finally got the attendance caught up to the size of the park. And so there's room for growth, but not too much more,” said Director Eric Gilbert.
This year’s festival saw a roughly 20% increase in attendance. It was also the highest grossing festival since it started in 2012.
“We need really a couple more years like that before we feel like we're going to be on solid ground that we've been seeking,” Gilbert added.
