Can you hear me?
Where are the up-and-coming bands in the festival scene?
From March 20th through March 24th, I was fortunate to secure a press spot at the 2024 Treefort Music Festival located in Boise, Idaho. During that week, I interviewed 10 bands about what it's like to be smaller, up-and-coming artists playing the festival scene.
We see a lot of festivals these days. You have big ones like Coachella in California, The Governor's Ball in New York, Bonnaroo in Tennessee, and Lollapalooza in Chicago, etc. You get the point. But the question I have for those festivals is: Where are the smaller artists? Artists who may or may not be backed by a label, who are working day jobs while also pursuing their art. Are they not worthy of being heard?
While I don't think it’s with malicious intent that we never see artists like that at these big headliner festivals, nor is this a gotcha-type piece, I think it creates a discourse and poses the question: Why don’t we? Now, yes, everything boils down to checks and balances, right? If you’re a booking agent, your goal is to make as much money as possible. So, you need to see dollar signs translated to numbers, a.k.a streams, followers, engagement, and all that jazz. What I feel is lacking, which was reaffirmed by the bands I spoke to, is a little bit of risk-taking.
What I can say specifically about Treefort is they know how to do a festival right. Every artist I interviewed at Treefort was genuinely excited to be there. The environment was uplifting and felt like a positive outlet for these artists to play and organically share the music they make. There was a large variety of artists and each stage was set up in a way that felt authentic to each band - no one ever played to an empty crowd. And, a lot of people stuck around at the stages to see the next band after a set, even if they didn't know them. Treefort did an amazing job of keeping up the vibes if you will.
But, don’t take that from me – take it from the bands I interviewed. I had the pleasure of talking to Isabeau Waia'u Walker, Ann Annie, Gondos, Rhododendron, How Strange It Is, and Forty Feet Tall, all from Portland, Oregon. I also spoke with Instant Crush, Telehealth, and So Pitted from Seattle, Washington, and Choke Cherry from San Francisco, California.
I asked artists questions such as: “How has your time been at Treefort been?”, “How was the application process?”, “How has playing Treefort benefited you?”, “What are some challenges you've faced as up-and-coming artists getting into the festival scene?” and “What advice would you give to someone trying to break into the scene?” Their answers lead me to the conclusion that these bigger headline festivals are missing out on the bread and butter of the music industry - the newcomers.
Ann Annie commented on how “organized and smooth the festival ran”, and many bands acknowledged how easy the application was, which is a huge deal for bands. Having an accessible, straightforward application makes it less intimidating when trying something new. Many of the bands I talked to said it would simplify things if they got a response when sending out the applications. Many festivals usually don't give a yes or no, so applicants are stuck in the limbo of not knowing; being given an answer, and not being ghosted, helps with planning these types of things. Especially financially!
This leads me to my next point. Often, up-and-coming bands are also working day jobs, which leads to some challenges. Like many of us reading this know, we have day job (s) aside from our art. This can make organizing things difficult.
When I asked the artists “What are some challenges you've faced?” (besides the obvious topic of money), many said time and organization. Isabeau made a great point about how “it’s important to have people in your corner, whether that’s a business partner, a bandmate, or peers. Someone to help you focus on your goals”. And, while I feel like this applies to all of us, it seems to be a recurring struggle for artists especially.
All bands mentioned the benefits of having connections with people who have played the festival, having played the festival themselves before, or having people be able to vouch for them. I feel like these answers about connections help us answer the question as to why we’re not seeing small artists in the larger festival scene.
Now yes, as Telehealth pointed out in our conversation “Capitalism is the biggest setback.” And, not just for getting bands to the festivals but, they also mention, “There's a lot of good bands out there that are new but, they only have a draw of 20. They’re still good but, venues and festivals tend to favor artists who have a draw-over sound.” Festivals especially have a harsh nose turn at these types of bands which can feel isolating when trying to get your art out into the world.
The more I talked to these artists, the more I could see that Treefort was so different from the other festivals they played. Treefort seemed to be this bigger, streamlined festival that ran smoothly and was all-inclusive. In fact, “Treefort [2023] lured 30,000 unique attendees over five days, according to organizers, an increase of 5,000 from last year's festival. The average daily attendance was 15,000, with Saturday seeing nearly 23,000.” Treefort gives these artists the chance to talk to and meet bigger artists, new fans, old fans, and new people to collaborate with.
As Forty Feet Tall put it “It feels like you're going to summer camp as a kid and every year you come back, you're excited to see your friends”. This is why I’m asking the question: why isn’t there not more of this? Why is the festival scene so gatekept? Why do you have to have a label, streams, content interaction, connections, etc.? Does “good” art not speak for itself?
And yeah, I know what you’re going to say: “Samantha, if they don't have those numbers and things how can we guarantee a profitable outcome or, how do we know they’ll pull people?” My answer is… you don't. But, you do have enough money to secure the big acts that pull people to give a chance to the smaller ones. Most of the time these artists are reaching out and applying to you. So why not take a band that sounds amazing with only 100 monthly listeners and throw them in the mix at Coachella? Why always put the burden on the smaller scene to make a noise for itself?
With that, I would like to acknowledge the community that the up-and-coming scene has built. If you're a smaller band and you happen to be reading this wondering how to get yourself into this scene one thing everyone said was: “Keep applying and making music that feels good to you”. It can be hard to hear a “no” but don't get discouraged. Who knows, one day you could send an application at the right time and find yourself in a new city meeting people who just want to share art with the world like you do.
I would like to personally thank the Treefort press staff for the opportunity to cover the festival. I also want to thank all the bands who I scheduled interviews with and or just interviewed after catching a set or meeting them in the hallway. They all have some really great projects they're cooking up for 2024 so, please take a moment to go through their socials and give them a listen + a follow! Writer/Editor/Photographer: Samantha Klopp | Secondary Editor: Beans Flores