Rothbury – The Greenest Music Festival of Them All?

Photo via Rothbury

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the greenest music festival of them all? This year I’m placing my bets on Rothbury. Now in its second year, the music festival – which just wrapped up its four-day stint yesterday in Rothbury, Michigan – calls itself a “party with a purpose.”

True to its tagline, Rothbury does all the important green event stuff like reducing waste, recycling, composting, using clean energy, promoting carpooling, and more. But what sets this music festival apart from its peers is the Think Tank, an event within the event that offers concert attendees the opportunity to discuss pressing environmental problems and potential solutions with scientists, scholars, writers, politicians, corporate leaders, activists, and artists. This year’s theme? Joining the new green economy.

It’s not all talk either. In addition to panel discussions, Rothbury features how-to workshops that covers topics like finding a green job, making your home and office energy efficient, growing your own organic food, and becoming an eco-fashionista.

For those of you interested in the  music – and why wouldn’t you be with superstars like the Dead, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson topping the bill- you can view photos and watch videos of the festival’s highlights here.

Musicians Go “Blue in the Face” Fighting Climate Change

Photo by Rankin via Oxfam

We’re increasingly understanding that the environmental movement is not just about hugging trees and saving the whales, it’s about people too. That’s why musicians like Fatboy Slim, Jarvis Cocker, VV Brown, and Little Boots are lending their faces – painted blue – to Oxfam’s “Blue in the Face” campaign.

The new campaign urges world leaders attending the climate summit in Copenhagen this December to address the needs of poor communities dealing with the impacts of global warming. From the destruction of homes to limited access to clean water to food shortages, the poor are especially hit hard by the effects of more frequent and severe natural disasters caused by climate change.

Photographed by fashion photographer Rankin, these celebrity pics are just the beginning of an online photo gallery of supporters. That’s right! You too can join in the face painting fun and “take action on climate change until you’re blue in the face.”

Oxfam will be at festivals all over the UK to help with face painting and photo snapping. They’ll present the petition to the UK government just in time for the summit, asking for reduced global carbon emissions and funds to help poor areas adapt to environmental changes. The big kickoff starts this weekend at Glastonbury.

Ben Sollee’s Bike Ride to Bonnaroo

Image via Pedaling Against Poverty

Although this year’s merrymaking has now officially come to a close, I wanted to bid farewell to Bonnaroo 2009 with an interesting story about one musician’s 330 mile journey to the festival…on a bike…with cello and 60 lbs of equipment in tow.

His name is Ben Sollee, and in an effort to reduce his carbon footprint as a musician, he took to the road not in a CO2-emitting van or tour bus, but on an Xtracycle extended-frame bike. An Xtracycle is a bike with a trunk of sorts, allowing riders to haul groceries, luggage, or cellos, apparently.

Ben, who hails from Lexington, Kentucky, embarked on a week-long trek to Bonnaroo in his neighboring state of Tennessee, stopping to perform shows along the way. Ben also promoted Oxfam America’s good work on poverty, hunger, and social justice issues at each gig. Talk about a sustainable tour.

You can read all about it on his blog (complete with videos), Pedaling Against Poverty, and in this informative interview with Jeff Biggers at the Huffington Post.

And the music? I downloaded Ben’s latest album, Learning to Bend, to have a listen for myself. Wow. Although classically trained, he applies some unconventional techniques to this old-school instrument, giving it a folksy, bluesy edge I didn’t know it had. And he’s got a soaring, soulful voice to boot. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, considering Mr. Sollee was named one of National Public Radio’s “Top 10 Unknown Artists of the Year” in 2007.

And this isn’t just a one-time thing. Ben is recording a new album, set to be released in fall 2009, that will raise awareness about the environmental dangers of mountaintop removal strip mining, a cause Ben has helped out with in the past. He’s still touring beyond Bonnaroo, so check to see if he’s performing near you – and pedal to the show on your own bike to show your support!

Bonnaroo Gets Even Greener This Year

Photo via Bonnaroo

I am looking at the schedule for Bonnaroo and lamenting just a ‘lil bit that I’m glued to this computer rather than enjoying the likes of MGMT, Band of Horses, Elvis Perkins in Dearland… Shall I go on? Of Montreal, Neko Case, Okkervil River…

Besides boasting an amazing lineup, the four-day festival – which runs from June 11 to June 14 in Manchester, TN – is one of the greenest festivals around. Last year’s eco efforts earned Bonnaroo an Outstanding Greener Festival award, making them one of only six festivals in the world to receive this highest honor bestowed by the Greener Festival Awards.

Here are a few ways Bonnaroo is aiming to lead by example again this year:

Empowering Staff & Volunteers. All staff are issued a Greening Manual – electronically, of course – full of tips to make their jobs greener. Bonnaroo’s volunteer team of Green Ambassadors are also on hand at the event to answer questions about the festival’s green initiatives.

Buying Sustainable Stuff. All kinds of green products are used to construct and prettify the site – from VOC-free paints to FSC-certified lumber to reusable decorations and second-hand furniture. 

Keeping It Waste-Free. Food scraps and biodegradeable serviceware will be composted, diverting over 10 tons of waste from the landfill. At the Clean Vibes Trading Post, Roo’ers can exchange empty cans and bottles for prizes like autographed merchandise, eco-friendly goodies, and even tickets to next year’s festival.

Powering Up Locally. This year, 80% of electricity will be sourced directly through the local grid, significantly reducing the amount of biodiesel needed to run generators. Additionally, the festival will purchase green power offsets from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Kicking the Bottled Water Habit. Thanks to a partnership with Stanley ninteen13, Bonnaroo will launch its new Less-Bottled Water Program this year. They’ll be selling nifty reusable bottles with Bonnaroo’s logo and offering free water stations throughout the site where thirsty folks can fill up.

Reducing Carbon Footprints. Carbon Shredders, a group that urges people to think about how their everyday actions affect climate change, will be enlisting willing patrons to pledge to reduce their carbon footprint by 10% in the next year.

Bringing the Message Home (Literally). Roo’ers can catch a show at the solar-powered performance stage and learn more about environmental and social activism at Planet Roo, the festival’s green village. The green pod will be back again as well, offering info about how to go green once the festival’s over.

Phish and Fans are “Traveling Light”

Photo via MySpace

My brother’s been raving on Phacebook about how phantastic the Phish show was at Phenway last week. Okay, this whole “ph” thing is getting annoying. I’ll stop now while I’m ahead. ..

Anyway, I heard some phabulous, errr… fabulous, things about Phish’s latest greening efforts for their summer tour and decided to check it out. And boy does it check out.

The Waterwheel Foundation (the nonprofit organization that oversees Phish’s charitable activities) and Reverb have teamed up to help not only Phish, but also their fans, go green.

The band is doing all sorts of cool stuff like fueling up their buses and trucks with biodisel; stocking their tour bus with eco-friendly cleaners and supplies; eating food from local, organic farms; composting waste and recycling; and using reusable water bottles. To top it all off, Phish plans to purchase carbon offsets to neutralize the CO2 emissions from their touring fleet, air travel, hotel accommodations, and venue energy use.

Phish has also created an online guide for fans – Traveling Light: The Green Guide to Phish Touring – that lists green resources specific to each show in the following categories:

• Food. Farmers markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food.
• Lodging. Green hotels and campsites.
• Transport. Carpools, bike routes, public transit options, and biodiesel fueling stations.
  
• Side Trips & Volunteering. Eco-friendly side trips and community service projects.
• Inspired Readings. Resources to keep the green momentum going at home.

Carpooling is getting a big push, with Phish giving away a free download of  the show each night of the tour to 20 random fans that sign up for PickupPal’s Phish RideShare Service. Phish fans have a reputation for following the band from show to show, so reducing the environmental impacts from travel has the potential to have a big impact.

Interested in joining in the phun (there I go again…), uh… fun? You can find Phish’s summer tour schedule here.

Reverb Helps Artists and Fans Green Concerts

Logo via Reverb

There’s much to think about when planning a tour: booking gigs, transportation, lodging, advertising, whether or not including a cover of Loverboy’s “Working for the Weekend” on the set list is really a good idea… How do you make a tour environmentally friendly on top of all that? Wouldn’t it be great if there was a green fairy that could wave her eco wand and take care of it all for you?

Enter Reverb, a Portland, Maine-based organization that does just that. Reverb offers a menu of greening services for artists and their managers including providing biodiesel for buses, sourcing eco-friendly merchandise like organic t-shirts and reusable water bottles, and coordinating local, organic catering.

Reverb was founded by environmental activist Lauren Sullivan and her musician husband Adam Gardner, guitarist and vocalist for Guster. They’ve worked with an impressive roster of artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Stars, Phish, Andrew Bird, and Kelly Clarkson. So far they’ve greened 70 tours and 1,120 events, reducing 62,608 tons of CO2 in the process. Not too shabby.

And they haven’t forgot about the fans, whose commute comprises over 80% of a concert’s carbon footprint (!). Reverb has made it easy for folks to reduce the environmental impact of their travel by partnering with the online ridesharing system PickupPal and selling carbon offset credits at shows.

Reverb also promotes environmental awareness at concerts, highlighting green causes, technologies, and businesses. They’re always looking for volunteers to help out with this, especially at festivalas and larger events where they set up an entire “Eco Village.” And volunteering wil get you a free pass. Not a bad deal, if you ask me. Just remember to carpool. And show some love for the Loverboy cover, no matter how bad it turns out.