reverb

While our own Earthkeeper heroes Reverb are hard at work this summer greening concert tours and educating music fans across the US about environmental sustainability, similar efforts to green the music scene are creating a positive impact in other parts of the world.

The Guardian website features an inspiring video about the annual Roskilde Music Festival in Denmark – an annual event that draws an estimated 80,000 people annually (and all their trash).

In recent years, event planners have gone to great lengths to make the popular music festival less environmentally-impactful by encouraging attendees to recycle their waste and personal belongings traditionally abandoned at the end of the 4-day event (over 1,600 sleeping bags were donated to the homeless after a recent Roskilde Festival) and by offering additional incentives in the form of a cash refund for cups, cardboard and drink containers returned to collection stands.  It is estimated that an astounding 97% of cups used at Roskilde’s concession stands are brought back for recycling … and many attendees have recouped the cost of their ticket while helping to keep the environment clean.

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Do you remember your first live music concert?

This was the topic of conversation in our office this morning – nostalgia inspired by the new video Reverb posted on their story board at Changents.com.

The answers to the question ranged from Dire Straits (1979, Providence, RI) to the Charlie Daniels Band (1982, Oxford, Ohio) to Boyz II Men (1994, Philadelphia). Regardless of the band, the venue or the date, our team of concert-goers agreed that their first concert was a rite of passage into the wonderful world of live music. And that on one hand, the experience of going to a concert hasn’t changed much over the years; on the other hand, it can be and often is a much more enriching experience that transcends the music.

Reverb is one of the driving forces behind the trend to educate and engage both the musicians and their fans to promote environmental sustainability. This summer, at concerts featuring John Mayer, Jack Johnson and the Dave Matthews Band, the bands are using bio-diesel to fuel their buses and generators. The on-site caterers are using biodegradable products and among many other things, there’s a commitment to both waste reduction and recycling.

As for the fans, if they carpool to a DMB or John Mayer concert this summer they could win DMB and John Mayer prizes. Through a partnership with PickupPal, Reverb supports this program in a fierce acknowledgement of the fact that 80% of the carbon footprint of a concert is from fans driving to and from the show. Once they arrive at the show, fans are greeted with a festival-like atmosphere in the Reverb Eco-Village where they can learn about green technologies, local and national non-profit groups dedicated to environmental sustainability, and carbon offset programs. Fans can also register to vote, participate in Eco-Trivia contests and sample eco-friendly consumer goods.

Whether you cut your concert-going teeth on hard rock, a little bit of country or something in between, there’s something uniquely powerful about a live music concert. Hats off to Reverb for realizing the opportunity to add environmental sustainability to the playlist — yet another wonderful addition to the 21st century music experience.