There’s nothing quite like the rush of feeling the reverberation of sounds from live instruments and hearing your favorite songs played live.
Then there’s all the energy needed to power the studio for long nights as musicians write, record and mix their unique sounds.
In just the U.K., music festivals alone created over 24,000 tons of carbon emissions along with creating 25,800 tons of waste and using up over 7 million tons of fuel.
Pop rock band The 1975 has made strides in creating a more sustainable future for the music industry and fans alike.
Most impressively, for the band’s latest album, Notes on a Conditional Form, the musicians partnered with climate activist Greta Thunberg for the title track, also called “The 1975.” In the song, Thunberg gives a chilling monologue over atmospheric melodies.
Preparing for a tour in 2022, pandemic permitting, Coldplay is planning to create events that have the lowest carbon footprint possible.
“Despite our best efforts, the tour will still have a significant carbon footprint,” the band explained on the sustainability section of its website.
Massive Attack, an English trip-hop collective, is known for its catchy beats and music to dance to, but it’s also making a name for itself in the sustainability realm.
In 2008, the band was already implementing eco-friendly actions on its tour, from swapping disposable cups to reusable options for crew, using biofuels for tour vehicles and banning air freight.
In 2019, Radiohead’s official website was hacked, and the culprit stole unreleased music and held it for ransom.
Unlike many other celebrities of her ilk, Lizzo also doesn’t own a car, and if she decides to buy one, she told Audacy that she’d go for an electric option.
“Everybody thinks that we’re killing the Earth, but we’re not,” Lizzo told Audacy.
Its tours focus on reducing single-use plastics, improving composting efforts, promoting local foods backstage for crew, and using biodiesel for tour vehicles.
The group, formed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter in 1987, work with many environmental organizations, including Reverb, PETA and Common Ground Foundation.
When touring, The Roots work toward carbon-neutral events, through actions like printing tour posters on reused paper, investing in renewable energy carbon offsets, giving away autographed compost bins for fans and more.
Singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow is another long-time climate activist, who was already campaigning to reduce toilet paper use in 2007 and toured on a biodiesel-fueled bus for a Stop Global Warming College Tour.
“Unfortunately I think there’s a large population of people that want to believe that climate change is a product of cyclical weather.
People are sick of our oil addiction and feel like nobody is doing anything about it,” Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer and guitarist of Green Day, said.
Green Day has supported various other charities and campaigns, including creating a charity drive after Hurricane Katrina and donating to victims of Hurricane Harvey.
Her impact is impressive, with an environmental curriculum — created in collaboration by the artist and ecology experts — implemented in Nordic schools to inspire the future generations.
While these musicians are making strides in sustainability both in their industry and beyond it, there are many more artists joining these efforts.
She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Ohio University and holds a certificate in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.