Aka Belle

We were excited to find ourselves included in coverage of Treefort Music Festival #9 coverage from No Depression - The Journal of Roots Music!

Treefort Music Fest: Moving Forward by Peter Dervin

Originally scheduled for March 2020, then pushed to September 2020, the ninth edition of the Treefort Music Fest in Boise, Idaho, finally happened! From Sept. 22 through Sept. 26, loads of fans came out to support the Treefort community.

Safety first. As festivals around the country continue to be challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, whether to host an event with thousands of people has been a tough question to deal with. The folks at Treefort implemented a very simple COVID check app that allowed people to pre-verify their vaccination status. Onsite testing and vaccinations were also offered to attendees.

Additionally, Treefort encouraged mask wearing both indoors and outdoors, and social distancing as much as possible. The response from the attendees was impressive. I’d say adherence to this request was over 90 percent. This made for a safe environment for everyone.

The music. Treefort expanded to a five-day event spread out throughout downtown Boise. The variety of music was wide ranging, including indie rock, jazz, blues, singer-songwriter, funk, bluegrass, and rockin’ Americana.

Highlights included Larkin Poe, Jeff Crosby, Alanna Royale, Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, and Calexico.

Treefort Music Fest announced its planned return for March 2022 and I can’t wait! Thank you to the entire Treefort community for demonstrating how to safely bring people back together to enjoy the creative spirit.

Click here to see the full article: Treefort Music Fest: Moving Forward

"Six days prior to a.k.a. Belle striking up a chord at the Main Stage to help usher in Treefort 9, the State of Idaho entered into a Statewide Crisis Standards of Care, meaning one’s ability to receive care in a hospital will likely be impacted due to a pandemic crisis with no discernable end in sight. On the first day of Treefort 9, Idaho was struggling to approach 41% vaccination rate as a state (40.99% per usafacts.org). With this in mind, I parked, put on my mask, descended several flights of stairs from the downtown parking garage, and proceeded to the COVID pre-check tent. Treefort Music Fest required all participants, attendees or artists, to show proof of vaccination or negative test at the Pre-Check Party Zone prior to receiving their pass to the festival; even going as far as administering vaccinations on site for those interested. Equipped with my bright orange “COVID Clear” wristband and traditional cloth festival pass I moved into the world of a music festival in a time of COVID."

For full article click here

Catherine spoke to Tracy Bringhurst from Boise Weekly about Aka Belle's first release of 2021, "A. M. Dew" - check out the interview here: Go on an Astral Journey: Boise Band Aka Belle release new single and video