TREEFORT MUSIC FEST 14 (2026)—FIVE MORE ACTS TO CATCH

Hailing from Boise, Idaho, the third time is the charm for The Other Room There who perform tunes from their recently-released “Look Alive” at Treefort Music Fest on Wednesday, March 25, 5:00PM at the Treefort Music Hall.  

As noted by the Treefort team: “The Other Room There is the solo, dream pop, indietronic project of why-it. For years, why-it has spent time in other groups building his ability to create lush soundscapes and droning tones to create meticulous sonic atmospheres along with catchy, poppy melodies. The Other Room There is a project focused on creating anthems to suburbia, anxiety, loss, and the great unknown. Pulling inspiration from electronic and indie artists of both the last 20 years and the 20 before then, The Other Room There creates music that both feels nostalgic, fresh, and unique. Now accompanied by Carsen Cranney (Moon Owl's Mages, Crush The Monster), the energy of The Other Room There shows has never been more electric.”

   

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Photo: © Hailey Jane.

Formed in 2022 on Colorado’s front range, Jesus Christ Taxi Driver is made up of Ian Ehrhart (guitar and vocals), Colin Kelly (guitar and vocals), Miles Jenkins (drums) and Will Ehrhart (bass). Known for their unrestrained, disruptive live shows that have been likened to Iggy Pop and The Cramps, Jesus Christ Taxi Driver has previously opened for Frank Black (Pixies), The Hold Steady, A Place To Bury Strangers, The Thing and more. Leaving their mark across North America, they have also performed at festivals including Treefort, Somewhere Fest and Break Out West. Fueled by the human connections they make on the road, the band has every intention of spending as little time at home this year as possible. 

In 2023, the band released their debut record “Lick My Soul” with standout tracks “STUPIDMOTHERFUCKER” and “Ding Dong The Beeves Are Dead.” In 2025, they were included in the National Independent Venue Association’s (NIVA) Live List of best independent live bands to keep an eye on. The Denver Westword frequently champions Jesus Christ Taxi Driver as one of the best bands in the scene right now. Their most recent releases include the eponymous “Jesus Christ Taxi Driver”, “Too Cold To Golf”, and “Lana Del Rey”, anticipating the release of their second album “Taxi the Rich” coming April 19, 2026 on Midtopia.

   

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For pop listeners looking for a bit more to chew on, Social Cinema’s debut “Don’t Get Lost” features a wealth of simultaneously at-odds and complementary instrumentation, whether that’s demonstrated by the band’s hard-panned, three-pronged guitar track of Gang Of Four-esque chimes exchanged among guitarists Griffin Bush, Mari Crisler and Reed Tiwald, or via the stop-start, drum-pad-aided grooves played by Logan Bush and bassist Austin Engler. Each song on “Don’t Get Lost” is ultimately concerned with stuffing in as many hooky bits as possible, which often sends the songs in unexpected directions. 

Take second track “Human Development,” which contains the elements of a normal pop song—there’s an intro, a verso and a chorus, albeit separated by several other distinct parts. Instead of returning from the chorus to a second verse, the song diverts into a maracas-infused instrument break whose only vocal part functions to bolster the song’s rhythm, not the song’s melody. It’s a delightfully adventurous move that makes the eventual explosive second chorus that much more gratifying. 

“Don’t Get Lost” is unmistakably a pop album meant to hook you in at the surface level and designed to reward you with repeated listens. Social Cinema have evolved here from their own self-prescribed characterization as a “live” band. While the live show will remain key to their identity, “Don’t Get Lost” is a full-length feat that earns them a new label: a “complete” band. Social Cinema plays Treefort Music Fest twice; first, late Thursday night, March 26, 2026 at 12:40AM at The Olympic, and then the following afternoon, Friday, March 27, 2026 on the Cyclops stage at 7:00PM.

   

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Photo: © Meg Moon

Unabashedly sapphic and iridescent with raucous abandon, The Beaches will rock the Main Stage at Treefort Music Fest on Thursday, March 26, 7:00PM. Like any gay guy with good sense I’m hoping they’ll make me an honorary lesbian; but, even if they simply can’t, I’m going to love them anyway, like all those other adoring str8ers. 

As profiled on Spotify: “The Beaches have spent the past decade building something unstoppable.

“Sisters Jordan Miller (lead vocals, bass) and Kylie Miller (guitar), along with best friends Leandra Earl (guitar, keys) and Eliza Enman-McDaniel (drums), have gone from Toronto up-and-comers to one of the biggest rock bands in Canada. 

“Their breakthrough came with ‘Blame My Ex’, a heartbreak-fueled, anthemic record that turned them into a viral sensation. It’s Platinum-certified lead single, ‘Blame Brett,’ exploded across platforms, racking up 115 million+ streams, 20 million views, and 15 weeks at #1 on Alternative Radio in Canada. The song’s success on TikTok introduced their music to a whole new wave of fans, solidifying their place in modern rock. 

“But The Beaches aren’t just a band you stream—they’re a band you experience. Known for their panty-throwing, stage-diving, no-holds-barred live shows, they bring an energy that’s as fierce as it is infectious. Their ‘Blame My Ex’ Tour proved it, selling out major venues worldwide, including their upcoming headline show at Budweiser Stage (Toronto)—a 16,000-capacity venue sold out three months in advance. 

“Now, with sold-out tours, major festival slots, and a sound that blends raw emotion with unapologetic fun, The Beaches have become more than just a band—they’re a movement. Loud, fearless, and completely in their own lane.” 

Their most recent 2026 releases include “I Ran (So Far Away)” and a live recording of “Silver Springs.” Getting rowdy with G Flip, The Beaches also have a new video for “Lez Go.” Otherwise, I’m offering up three of my favorites from 2025’s “No Hard Feelings.”

   

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Whether irony or mere wistfulness my mind has circumambulated around Father John Misty’s (sold-out launch of his 2026 tour at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, which grounded so many of the entertainments of my youth and mid-age. Granted, I’m not sure I would have been able to afford the tickets plus service charges recently required by the Castro, so I am all the more appreciative that I will get to hear Father John Misty (née Josh Tillman) on the Main Stage at Treefort Music Fest on Sunday, March 29, 2026 at 8:20PM. Rather than bemoan a bygone era, I celebrate my current opportunities. 

Father John Misty has recently released a three-song EP, “The Old Law” with its eponymous track, and repeats of two tunes from his sixth album 2024’s “Mahāśmaśāna”, whose title refers to the Sanskrit word Mahāśmaśāna, meaning "great cremation ground". Tillman chose the word after reading it in Bruce Wagner's 2006 novel Memorial and feeling inspired by it, "Just visually, it has all these sha-na-nas and ha-ha-has in it. With the record, there’s a lot in there about the self and about identity, and I think just the micro and the macro scale of endings." 

Tillman commissioned artist Joe Roberts to do some collages for the album, he also sent along a few doodles. One of them was made while Roberts was listening to the record, Tillman thought they looked like biblical angels, and chose it as the cover. Roberts almost did not send the drawing due to an accidental "red splotch" of paint.