Artists put best feet forward at Boise’s Treefort Music Fest

Forrest Gump once said, “My mama always said you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes.”

Usually in photography you look straight ahead, sometimes up, but rarely down. During the Band Dialogue V at Treefort Music Fest last month, I spent part of the afternoon looking nowhere but down.

The Band Dialogue is an experimental music collaboration featuring more than 60 members from 20 bands performing a piece composed by Seth Olinsky. The music was wonderful, and as I made my way around the large circle of band members lining West Grove Street, I noticed how interesting and diverse the musicians’ feet and shoes were, and thought that this event would make for a fun photo essay.

For the week during Treefort, Boise was filled with more than 400 musicians, each bringing his or her own personal style. I wondered as I walked the streets of Downtown this year whether I was seeing a glimpse of what Boise will be in 20 years. The 20-somethings walking around during Treefort definitely do not adhere to the solid brown wingtips of yesteryear.

What can you tell by looking at these feet? I see youth, vigor, individuality and nonconformity. The same could be said about the Treefort Music Fest, and possibly Boise in the future.

Go to www.facebook.com/idahostatesman to match the Treefort shoes to the musician’s face.

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 11:31 PM with the headline "Artists put best feet forward at Boise’s Treefort Music Fest."