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!

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.