Eric P. Nelson's Top 5 Treefort Music Fest Picks (Comedy Edition)

  • March 15, 2023
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Treefort Music Fest has always been on my radar, they've had solid lineups that past few years, I just never made it. Well, this year, all that changes. Primarily, when they announced the Comedyfort lineup and Shane Torres was on the list, I decided I would finally make the trek up to Boise. Here is what else I'm looking forward to on the very first #ericpnelsonsbigtreefortadventure.

SHANE TORRES - Shane Torres has been hovering near the top of my "To See" list since I heard him the first time a few years back. His Guy Fieri joke was the exact opposite of what a lot of comedy was/is at the time, it made everybody stop and rethink why they feel the way the do about Mr. Fieri, and Nickelback for that matter. Hands down the one person I need to see at Treefort. If I see Shane Torres, then fall off my bike and miss the rest of the festival, I'll be happy. 

COMEDY SHOWCASES - The best thing about festivals is the discovery. With music, you can usually find a song, or an album, or something online, and have a general idea of what the band sounds like. With comedy, I find it a lot less easy to know what you're getting into. Everyone has a blurb about their comedy, but rarely does it prepare you for what their set is actually like. If their blurb is, "I'm a cross between Sam Kinison and Andrew Dice Clay," then, yea, you probably have an idea what you're getting into. I've never read that blurb. My plan is to hunker down at the venue and laugh as much as I can, with people I do not know. 

Here's my shortlist of comedians I'm excited to hear simply based on their single paragraph blurb: 

Ameerah Sanders
Kayla Evans
Andy Vas
Sofia Javed



IMPROV4HUMANS - Good improv is the best! Everything else is pretty rough. Good thing improvisor/comedian Matt Besser (co-founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade) has been at it since the 90's improvising with the best. The podcast is a fully improvised show and, at Treefort, the guests are top notch. Jon Gabrus is quite well known in the podcast circus as a bit too much. This is true, but a good host (like Besser) will hopefully be able to wrangle him just below that 'too much' realm, where he can be really funny. Gabrus has a pair of podcasts of his own (Action Boyz and High & Mighty) and is a frequent guest on some of my favorite podcasts, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Doughboys, Newcomers, etc. Danielle Schneider is best known for her comedy podcast Bitch Sesh, where she and Casey Wilson discuss, at length, the Real Housewives with incredibly funny people. She also happens to be married to Besser, which always makes for fun podcasting.



HIGH AND MIGHTY - As stated above, Jon Gabrus can be a bit much, and usually is. Here's the tagline for the pod, "Gabrus' interests are all over the place...and so is this podcast. He interviews friends and celebrities, some who are both. About the kind of stupid stuff that a nerd/meathead/manchild would be into. Tangents are not only allowed, they are encouraged." Recent episodes include 'Sandwiches,' 'Martial Arts,' 'Getting Jacked,' and 'Fantasy Adaptations.' It's one of those podcasts you really have to be in the mood for. I'll do my best. 

THIS COULD BE GAY - This podcast is a new one to me. It's a local one out of Boise, and is reletively new, but sounds like it could be solid. The general idea is the host, Anja, and a guest talk through pop culture history's lack of LGBTQIA+ representation and then discuss what it would have looked like if "things had been a little bit more queer." Past episodes includes talks about Ghostbusters, Legally Blonde, James Bond, Little Women, Pro Wrestling, and the MCU. This will be 'This Could Be Gay's" third appearance at Treefort, which means they were asked back twice, which is a good thing. 

Aaaaaaannnnnnnnnddddd, my one music pick. I'm excited to discover a ton a music as well, but I'm really excited to see Butcher Brown. 

BUTCHER BROWN - Butcher Brown put out the album Butcher Brown Presents Triple Trey featuring Tennishu and R4ND4ZZO BIGB4ND last year and was my first introduction to them. It quickly was in my top five albums. I've listened to that full album more than anything in a long time, really excited to see them live. They've opened for Galactic, Lettuce, Kamasi Washington, had an NPR Tiny Desk session, now it's time for Treefort! 

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