The Treefort Journal, Part One (RE-POST from 4/4/15)

This is a re-post from my first experience with Treefort in 2015. That year, I attended all five days. Since then, I have attended some of the Treefort stuff off and on, but this year, I will be full on Treeforting again. Only this time I will be 41. Stay tuned for my upcoming Treefort After Forty blog post.

Over spring break, I attended Boise's Treefort Music Fest for the first time. Since its inception in 2012, I have either been busy with theater productions or out of town. My husband, Dan, and I decided this would be the year . . . before we totally lost our "cool" factor.

Actually, I don't know that I ever had much of a "cool" factor but maybe staying out all night listening to indie bands upped my street cred a little.

Lucky for you, I am sharing these "Insights from a Not-So-Hip, Late Thirty-Something Elementary Music Teacher."

3/24/15 (The Night Before)
The band descriptions on the Treefort website reference My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr. a lot, which bodes well for us Gen Xers.

How does this thirty-something survive a five-day rock 'n roll festival? Tagamet, vitamins, Excedrin, and earplugs.

3/25/15 (Wednesday)

The first concerts are held at our church. Dan and I sit closer to the front than we have ever sat in any church. Different perspective.

"Whoa, they're older than us," I remark as we pull into a parking spot and a middle-aged couple walks in front of us, "and they're wearing bracelets."

"Take a picture," Dan says.

(SIDE NOTE: It turned out, this was not an anomaly. There were a lot of people older than us at the festival. Thank goodness.)

ARTISTS WE SAW:
Tom Brosseau: A few days earlier, he had performed on NPR's All Songs Considered.

Alynda Lee Segarra (also of Hurray for the Riff Raff)

Josh Ritter: Great storyteller and lyricist. I even saw some tears during "Idaho."

Josh Ritter

3/26/15 (Thursday)

Dan and I take this opportunity to be tourists in our own city.

We attend Storyfort. We learn about historic buildings in downtown Boise, and we listen to a panel of local musicians discuss Boise's rock scene.

We attend the film festival and watch experimental films in a tent, sitting on old-fashioned church pews.

The "Lineometer" app tracks the length of lines outside the various venues and says clever things like, "sea of humanity," "is one person a line?" and "the entire population of Boise."

ARTISTS WE SAW:
Cotillon: "It finally feels like a music festival," Dan says, but we only catch the end of the set because I had to eat dinner before five hours of bands.

Hillfolk Noir: Complete with an upright bass, a washboard, and a saw. I go by myself to this one while Dan watches Strange Wilds ("definitely influenced by Nirvana," he says later). But, being the typical bar audience, the concert-goers at the Knitting Factory do more socializing than music-appreciating.

Francisco the Man: Muted vocals, driving rhythms

Baby Ghosts: Self-deprecating, fun pop punk

Cymbals Eat Guitars: Slow burn, cacophony of sound

I love it when tall people stand in front of me, then play on their phones throughout the entire concert because . . . well . . . five-foot-two here.

Also, I get ID'ed several times that night. Dan doesn't. I'm wearing like one thousand wristbands by the end of the evening. I'm told by some girl at the Linen Building that I'm "super short" and that she feels bad about standing in front of me. I think she's kind of drunk because I'm not that short, just five-foot-two (and a half).

STILL TO COME NEXT WEEK: "The Treefort Journal, Part Two," in which I will continue to share my not-so-hip, late-thirty-something insights from the crazy, busy Treefort weekend.

For the latest blog updates, visit and "like" Rebecca Turner-Duggan.

And Spring Break Begins . . .

My spring break began Friday afternoon. It's been pretty cool so far.

The nephews came for a visit. This very important task is called "Holding the Coffee Table Down."

Just chillin' with Uncle Dan

Then it was St. Patrick's Day, you know, a Guinness and Shamrock Smoothie kind of day.

Dan and I also saw Wicked on St. Patrick's Day. At first, we weren't going to go because it wasn't included in our season tickets. We had seen it the last couple of times it came through Boise. But Dan received an email that said tickets were still available, and we decided to be #spontaneous.

Oh yeah. Did I mention I had some kind of rehearsal, performance, concert, or work commitment almost every night for the two weeks prior to spring break? It turns out my body decided it was time to feel a little under the weather. (Maybe it's just allergies?) #musicteacherproblems

Signs of spring and birdsong

But I wasn't going to let a little cold stop me from enjoying a beautiful morning run. 

I live here. Happy Spring Break to me!

For the latest blog updates, visit and "like" Rebecca Turner-Duggan.

The Kids Are Crazy (RE-POST) from 3/3/18

It's funny how not much has changed in a year. Enjoy this re-post from 3/3/18!

Elementary school kids are crazy. And hilarious. And unfiltered. Here is the latest installment of Kid Funnies from my school year. Enjoy!

1. Bastard!
On music game day, a couple of six-year-olds were at my listening station where I introduce them to the magic of CDs, all of which have been deemed school appropriate by yours truly. Or so I thought.

"Mrs. Duggan, is 'bastard' a bad word?" one of the kids shouted (of course, since he was wearing headphones).

I spent an hour after school, scouring my listening station for inappropriate songs. I found no mention of a "bastard" in any song. The only thing I can think of is that he mistakenly thought he heard the word.

2. The Well-Oiled Machine
Occasionally, one of my first graders behaves like a machine. How do I know? He suddenly pops up in his seat, making whirring noises while his eyes roll around in his head. Then his body flops over when the machine finally shuts down. And no, he is not having seizures. I already checked with the nurse.

3. What Are You Wearing on Your Head?
I have a student who loves to dress like animals. One year, she wore a tail almost everyday. The other day, she was wearing a thing on her head that looked way too much like one of those bachelorette party penis hats.

"I made it myself!" she said proudly.

It took me a minute to figure out she was supposed to be a unicorn.

4. My Maiden Name
I have a student whose last name is the same as my maiden name. None of the kids know my maiden name anymore because I was married before they were born.

"Do you know what my name was before I was Mrs. Duggan?" I asked the student.

She paused for a moment, regarding me, deep in thought.

Then she said, "Rebecca?"

5. What Happened to Rock 'N Roll?
I force the choir kids to do a physical warmup to Weezer's "Buddy Holly" most mornings.

"This is when music rocked!" I told them all. "Nowadays, you just listen to that synthesized stuff."

"You sound like a real grown-up, Mrs. Duggan," said a fifth grade girl.

Touché.

6. This music reminds me of . . .
My fourth graders were filling out a listening log in preparation for the Philharmonic Children's Concert next week. The final question was "This music reminds me of . . ."

One of my students wrote, "This music reminds me of Mrs. Duggan because it started calm and got excited all of a sudden."

Best. Response. Ever.

Guess who loves her job? This girl!

For the latest blog updates, visit and "like" Rebecca Turner-Duggan.

Dan Goes to Choir Festival (RE-POST from 3/9/13)

Choir Festival is just around the corner once again. Hence, this re-post from six years ago. Enjoy!


The other night, my husband, Dan, did his favorite thing in the whole world. He spent the evening with 200 elementary school kids.

Tuesday night was our district's elementary choir festival. As director of my school's choir, I was required to be there. Dan, an introverted software engineer, was not. But instead of playing video games at home all night, he opted to brave curly-haired girls and handsome boys in their newly-pressed white button-down shirts.

I put him in charge of handing out the kids' choir vests and videotaping the concert. Pretty soon, he was elected to run the houselights for the concert. He also sat next to my choir, on the opposite end. He was supposed to be a foreboding presence, intimidating the kids I couldn't reach quickly.

He called me, "Mrs. Duggan" in front of the kids. I, in turn, called him,"Mr. Duggan."

The kids looked at us like we were weirdos.

"We already know your first name, Mrs. Duggan."

"Do you really call each other Mr. and Mrs. Duggan?"

One student even asked Dan, "What is your first name?"

"Mister . . . " Dan responded.

At the end of the concert, Dan taught the kids how to hand in their vests neatly. In fact, he refused to take them unless they turned in the vests properly.

"You would make a good teacher," I observed.

After the performance, while I was chatting with other directors, Dan sat patiently on the other side of the auditorium, playing with the video camera.

I have noticed that most music teachers don't have spouses who work alongside them during their programs. I have forgotten what it was like to do all of this on my own. (There were a few years during the beginning of my teaching career when I was "Miss Turner" rather than "Mrs. Duggan.)

Maybe Dan and I are still in the honeymoon phase of our marriage (after nine years?). Perhaps I am just lucky. Regardless of the reason, I am happy for the help, especially at festival time.

Not too long ago, I heard that one of my out-of-town music teacher colleagues was getting a divorce. She felt her husband wasn't supportive enough. He felt she wasn't home enough.

"It's hard for our spouses to come to everything, especially when we're gone nights and weekends at performances, conferences, you know . . ." another music teacher colleague said in a separate conversation.

That night, I told Dan, "If you get burnt out helping me with my job, you have to tell me before it gets to that point."

"Okay," he said, in a way that led me to believe that he kind of liked herding 200 elementary-age kids around an auditorium.

In another week, Dan will be helping with my spring musical. I wonder what kinds of tasks I'll have for him on my honey-do list. He will probably be on a ladder, hanging decorations, due to my fear of heights.

For the latest blog updates, visit and "like" Rebecca Turner-Duggan.