Google's newscrawler turned up a nice find for me today with an English-language piece from Radio France International about a festival called Le Cabaret Vert. The festival is named after a poem by Rimbaud, who came from the same Ardennes region that the festival is held in. This year the event celebrated its fourth anniversary over the last 3 days of August.
The piece is available both as an article and as an audio piece (caution-Windows Media Player file) complete with a full-length track from an Atlanta-area hip-hop band. It's particularly interesting to note that the festival's reputation isn't based on the quality of music but instead on being a green festival that happens to have good bands. As unlikely as that might sound to American audiences, they managed to draw 35,000 to this year's event, about the same number of people who attended Rothbury.
Unfortunately, there's no English language version of the festival website, so I wasn't able to read about the specifics of what makes this festival so eco-friendly. The article mentions lots of recycling bins and an area where fans wash their own dishes instead of using disposable foodware, but other than that I'm not sure how this event stacks up.
Here's some kind of a promotional video for the 2007 version of the festival. I'm not really sure what's going on, but the French-rock soundtrack is pretty entertaining. Enjoy!
Here's some great news! State Radio, a fantastic Sherborn, Mass., based band with a strong political bent that's been making it big on the festival circuit and opening up for Dave Matthews, is partnering up with fantastic Boston, Mass., based Bikes Not Bombs to get fans to ride their bikes to their upcoming Boston Show.
The show is at Boston's B of A Pavilion, perhaps our finest venue with its open air but under cover location on Boston's waterfront. The one problem with the Pavilion has always been that it is kind of hard to get to for us car-free types. It's about a 15 minute walk from the nearest subway stop, and although access has been improved recently by a new Bus Rapid Transit route that come closer it's a 2-3 seat ride for most attendees. But the location is a perfect spot for biking, with wide, low-traffic streets and plenty of open asphalt nearby to erect bike racks--in fact, I used to work just around the corner and rode to work every day. Until now, though, the Pavilion hasn't ever explicitly welcomed bikes.
From the announcement about the event, it looks like folks who bike to the show get to ride along with the band, which is about as awesome as anything I could dream up. Bike riders will also get entered into a drawing for some kickin' prizes, including a 4-pack of front-row seat upgrades, a new bike, and entrance to a private party with the band after the show. My only complaint is that I won't be able to make it to the show--I'll be in Chicago that day, covering Lollapalooza for this here web-publication. But I'll get a chance to see them at Rothbury, and perhaps I'll be able to snag an interview then.
Bikes Not Bombs, by the way, is my local bike shop, located just a short walk from my apartment in Jamaica Plain. They're an outstanding nonprofit that's about as green as can be. They take old bikes, train local youngsters to refurbish them, and resell them. They also ship old bikes to places like Ghana and El Salvador, where locals are trained to repair and sell them and they provide sustainable transit to local folks. Let's hope this new venture of theirs catches on and we see more bike-friendly music events in Boston next year!
Incidentally, I fell in love with State Radio after I heard their rollicking "The Story of Benjamin Darling, Part 1" on a Paste sampler a while back. While this song doesn't sound much like the rest of their stuff, it was enough to get me interested in the rest of their catalog. I'm looking forward to a great set at Rothbury and to hearing more parts in the story of Benjamin Darling. Enjoy it below in this live acoustic version from Oregon State U recorded last year. The lyrics can be tough to follow, so here's a cheat sheet.
Hat tip to Noah G. for letting me know about this!
My google alerts, um, alerted me to these two news stories about green festivals over in Paul McCartneyland. First up is a Smartplanet.com's roundup of British green festivals co-authored by our close personal friend Ben Challis, one of the founders of the Brit-centric website A Greener Festival. We keep talking to Ben about how we should collaborate more--maybe this will finally be the year it happens!
British festivals sound like they're pretty much like American festivals, with lots of the same bands and the same general demographic. The big differences from a green perspective are that they tend to be easier to get to by public transportation (by virtue of being in a country where everything is easier to get to by public transit) and that they are jumping on board the composting toilet bandwagon, while we here in the US are left to suffer with nasty blue chemical toilets.
Second up is a slightly more in-depth piece by the BBC (!!!) profiling the award that the T in the Park festival won for greening its event. That festival is also mentioned in the first article, but it's not clear to me whether it's the greenest of them all or just the best advertised. Anyway, nice to see the green festival buzz going all the way mainstream--a mention in the Beeb is a Very Big Deal, indeed. Congrats to the T in the Park!
The Emory Wheel (the student newspaper of Emory U, in Atlanta) has an excellent piece on the greening of festivals nationwide online here. If this is student journalism, color me impressed!
The story explores the greening of festivals through Wakarusa and the Echo Project (covered here on my old blog), touching on key aspects including the impact of fan travel, the difficulty of making any event truly green in a non-green society, and the importance of not being too earnest.
Notable quote from a festival-goer: “Just like any other person wants to talk about music, they just want to talk about the environment. They weren’t making me feel like I was a bad person or preaching at me. They made me feel like I could be a part of something bigger.”
I'm packing my bags and heading for sunny Austin, TX, for this year's SXSW conference. Hope to see you there! Email me if you want to meet up: green [at] jambase [dot] com.
As we reported last year, SXSW has been steadily increasing their green commitments with each festival. Green innovations like solar stages, renewable energy credits, and themed parties and panels that help record labels and bands green up their activities made a huge impact last year and will continue on to this year's festival. Here is a video from You Tube that details at a fan's eye view what greening initiatives went on last year and what to expect this year. Check it out:
Seems my passion for all things green and musical is rubbing off on Grist editor Sarah van Schagen, who has reported on the greening of Bonnaroo, given us a good comparison chart of the greenest music festivals, and now has posted an interview with Aussie artist Xavier Rudd, following up on last year's heart-to-heart with fellow down-under heartthrob John Butler. What is it about the Aussies that they keep popping up on the green-music radar?
But Sarah's got more than just a passing fancy for musical men at work--she's got a long and growing list of green music stories, as well as a smattering of Hollywood (ick) coverage and an oh-so-cute affection for alliteration.
So since I've been unable to line up my own interview with the Beastie Boys, I'll point you to her interview with Mike D for another big green concert last year.
How do we compare as green-music bloggers? Like me, Sarah was disappointed in Sasquatch for its halfhearted greening efforts at last year's festival, but unlike me, Sarah was actually there. And while Sarah posted way, way more about Bonnaroo than I did, and got to have interviews with musicians thanks to her all-access press pass, I still think my post on the big bash was pretty good. More recently, we'veboth commented in passing on surfer-boy Jack Johnson. And while we have also both covered BioWillie, she picked up on his book while I picked on him (but just a little) for the questionably sustainable concept of BioDiesel. And neither ofus could make heads or tails of the Virgin Music Festival's decision to use Darryl Hannah as an official spokesflack. But while she gets interviews with fun musicians like Michael Franti and covers important, erm, news like the greening of Maroon 5 (only comment to that story: "such a shame they're terrible"), I dig out the real movers and shakers behind the green music scene with interviews likethese. But I totally whiffed it on the Grammys. Sorry, kids!
Bottom line? It's not a competition, obviously, although I bet I could drink her under the table (a table at Bonnaroo covered in organic beer served in compostable cups, natch). Instead, I'll just continue to clue you folks in whenever she posts another exceptional article, and be glad that someone else out there cares about getting to listen to music without having to feel all guilty about it. And Sarah, I expect to see you at a music festival or 10 this summer. Until then, I'll be watching you!
Encore recently posted an article on the greening measures behind Live Earth. Since the visions of the private chartered jets flying the artists around and the lighting at Giants stadium seem to be the proverbial pill in all the jam (pun intended, wah,wah,wah,wah), I thought it would be timely to show you all the measures that went behind making the event as green as the cause behind it.
Live Earth Leaves Green Legacy At Concert Venues Worldwide
Posted: June 27, 2007
LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) -- In an effort to implement a more sustainable event production model, members of the Live Earth Green Team will provide global concert venues with the tools and guidelines necessary to continue environmentally conscious activities after the event itself is over. This legacy initiative is just one component of the Live Earth commitment to inspiring over two billion people worldwide to make smarter decisions to lead a more energy efficient lifestyle.
Despite various cultural, venue and logistical challenges, the Live Earth Green Team is taking thoughtful steps towards ensuring that the environmental impact of the eight official concerts worldwide is significantly minimized. From waste management programs activated at each venue to transportation solutions aimed at reducing concertgoers’ travel emissions, the stage is set for Live Earth to be a major catalyst of a global movement aimed at creating change.
"Live Earth is about engaging a global audience with solutions to the climate crisis, and providing these legendary venues with the knowledge that will allow them to continue their environmental contributions, " said John Rego, environmental director, Live Earth and a senior consultant for Brand Neutral. "Improving sustainability is a long-term goal and we are proud to be contributing to a greener future for these cities."
In addition to recycling or composting plastic bottles and containers on-site at all locations, the Live Earth venues will optimize lighting to reduce energy consumption and exchange inefficient bulbs for efficient ones. A combination of solar, wind and biofuel generated power will be sourced to power all energy sources including lighting, air circulation, musical equipment and amplifiers. Effective waste management is another essential component of the venue greening, and Live Earth has introduced a variety of ways to reduce the garbage produced by the shows.
Specifically, Giants Stadium will instate a triple-stream system, likely its first in its 30-year history which combines waste, compost and recycling and aims to more than double the diversion rate of materials that will avoid landfills on the day of the show. In an effort to reduce waste generated at the concert, official partner, Pepsi Co. estimates it will recycle more than 200,000 bottles and cans – preventing at least 10 tons of waste from going to landfills and saving enough electricity to power 5,110 homes for a 24 hour period -- the same amount of time concerts will last. In addition, a partnership with web-based invitation provider Evite will offer Live Earth ticket holders the resources to meet up with friends and organize carpools to and from the concert. Biodegradable tableware provided by Aramark will be used for food and beverage services, and any signage present in the venue will be made from bio-material that will eventually be composted or reused.
In London, several environmental education programs are in place to support Wembley Stadium progress to become a greener venue. On June 28, Wembley plans to brief members of its management team about the environmental initiatives already underway as well as advise them of all of the green changes to come. On-site generators are currently being tested to run on 99 percent biodiesel on July 7 while all aluminum cans collected from the Live Earth event will be recycled and a payment of .025 pence will be aggregated and donated to local nonprofits, which is a system Wembley stadium put in place earlier this year. Wembley long term goals even include plans to recycle used chewing gum to help resurface children’s playgrounds long after Live Earth.
Live Earth staff has managed to reduce the impact of affiliated transportation surrounding the shows as well. Concessionaires in many locations will source food locally, wherever available to cut down on vehicle emissions from trucking. The largest source of emissions, the travel of concert goers, is being reduced by an upcoming education outreach that provides individuals information about and encouragement to use public transportation and carpool to reduce harmful air pollutants. To further offset the carbon produced by the shows, Live Earth will purchase enough carbon credits to zero out the carbon emissions created by the overall event. While each Live Earth venue will have a variety of green initiatives it is activating, the events as a whole aim to demonstrate a collective effort to instill green practices in the everyday lives of individuals.
Twenty-four hours of music across seven continents will deliver a worldwide call to action and the solutions necessary to answer that call. Live Earth marks the beginning of a multi-year campaign to drive individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve the climate crisis. Live Earth is partnering with the Alliance for Climate Protection, The Climate Group, Stop Climate Chaos and other international organizations in this ongoing effort. Live Earth was founded by Kevin Wall, a worldwide executive producer of the Live 8 concert series in 2005, and is supported by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.
smart is the only automaker serving as an Official Partner. Unlike any other vehicle, the new smart fortwo combines a modern, individual lifestyle with environmental protection by setting the standard in urban mobility and offering the lowest CO2 emission of any vehicle on the market. smart responds to environmental demands with innovative, technologically sound solutions and as a result produces positive and credible answers to the question of ecological driving.
Philips, as the leading lighting supplier in the world, joins Live Earth as an Official Partner. Philips was the first to introduce the energy saving light bulb in 1980 and has put environmental product improvement at the heart of its business with its EcoDesign program since 1994, increasing its green product range year by year.
Live Earth is partnering with companies on a local level who share the commitment to helping people live a more energy efficient lifestyle. PepsiCo, an Official Partner of Live Earth, is committed to making a difference with eco-friendlier packaging, energy and water conservation and waste reduction. It’s all part of the PepsiCo commitment to Performance with Purpose -- to do better by doing better.
Esurance, the direct-to-consumer personal auto insurance company, joins Live Earth as an Official Sponsor and is the latest extension of Esurance efforts to conserve energy and preserve the planet's precious resources. For more than seven years, Esurance policyholders have helped save thousands of trees by buying their auto insurance online and using electronic documents.
The Absolut Spirits Company, an official Live Earth partner, is working to reduce its carbon dioxide impact by focusing on sustainable agriculture, reducing impact on climate change and optimizing use of natural resources as mandated by V&S Group, the parent company of Absolut Vodka and one of the leading international spirits companies. --Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
While you're soaking up the tunes at Wakarusa, spend some time at this year's Sustainability Symposium, too. Wakarusa has teamed up with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation or BEF (the folks that helped Sub Pop and Kelley Stoltz green up) and New Belgium Brewery to educate concert-goers about sustainability.
From the Bonneville Environmental Foundation: The key theme of this year’s symposium is the conservation and production of energy. Friday evening, June 8th, Jeff Goodell, author of Big Coal, will take center stage to address coal-fired energy. Saturday morning will feature additional speakers including Wes Jackson of The Land Institute, followed by a panel discussion addressing the issues of energy and related environmental impacts including climate change. Additional speakers include NicThiesen of the New Belgium Brewing Company, and Pete Ferrell, a fourth generation Kansas rancher whose land hosts wind turbines. Along with using biodiesel-powered generators to power the sound stages, Wakarusa offset the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the festival with BEF Zephyr Energy Green Tags. This measure furthers the green initiatives Wakarusa has had in place in the past. Strong recycling programs and waste reduction methods like providing incentives for concert-goers to reuse cups have been in place for some time.
The Sustainability Symposium will take place Friday night and Saturday during the day. Check it out! More information is here.
Visit London will be kicking off its “Village London” campaign by covering Trafalgar Square with 2,000 square feet of green turf on 24-25 May, transforming one of London’s most iconic attractions into “London’s village green”.
A leading global city, London can also claim to be a diverse collection of villages and one of the greenest capitals in the world. During the two-day event people will be able to take advantage of the green space to have a picnic or just soak up the atmosphere and relax in a deck chair.
A new section on Visit London’s website at www.visitlondon.com/villages will be dedicated to London villages. Visit London will also be producing 500,000 printed guides in association with Time Out. These will be distributed with Time Out and the Evening Standard as well as in Tourist Information Centres and through face-to-face distribution. There will also be outdoor advertising in London and South East England.
Visit London’s Chief Executive, James Bidwell, said: “From the rural feel of areas like Bexley Village and Wimbledon, to urban villages like Marylebone and even Canary Wharf, the campaign will help everyone discover Village London.”
After the event the turf, which will come from a sustainable source in the Vale of York, will be transferred to Bishops Park in Hammersmith and Fulham, where it will be planted beneath an avenue of majestic plane trees close to the River Thames and Fulham Palace.
Global Cool, the celebrity backed climate change campaign, will be working with Visit London to make the Trafalgar Square village green carbon neutral. Global Cool will advise Visit London on how to reduce the event’s carbon footprint before offsetting any remaining emissions.
inspiring over two billion people worldwide to make smarter decisions to lead a more energy efficient lifestyle.
The Village Green Preservation Society (Hot Fuzz) by The Kinks"top ten favorite albums of all time, I had to repost this festival! It is going on May 24-25th.
A leading global city, London can also claim to be a diverse collection of villages and one of the greenest capitals in the world. During the two-day event people will be able to take advantage of the green space to have a picnic or just soak up the atmosphere and relax in a deck chair.
