Creating Eco-friendly Concerts

By: Valerie Reyes Editor-in-Chief

Summer is very slowly approaching which means so are concerts and festivals. Although attending concerts can be very fun and create memorable experiences, it’s important to keep in mind that live music is one of the many contributors to the climate crisis due to the amount of waste and carbon footprint that is produced by musicians, venues and fans.

Musicians such as Drake, Billie Eilish, Shawn Mendes and The 1975 are making their concerts more environmentally friendly by providing merchandise from sustainable materials, educating fans on sustainability, providing free water refill stations and plant-based food. So far, it seems Coldplay is one of the bands doing as much as possible to reduce their carbon footprint. During Coldplay’s 2022 world tour, they used green technologies to power their shows, supported green projects with donations, increased recycling efforts and minimized air travel.

over 350 tours, raised over 5.7 million dollars for environmental causes and much more to act in fighting the climate crisis. If more musicians can partner with non-profit organizations that promote environmentally friendly concerts, this would be a great start to making a change.

Not only are musicians responsible for going green and providing sustainable alternatives for their shows but fans also have a role in making a change. Due to the amount of land or air traveling fans do for concerts, it emits a lot of carbon dioxide, contributing to the carbon footprint of a tour. What fans can start doing to help the environment is to start carpooling or taking public transportation.

University of St. Francis Senior, Andrea Vollmer says, “I think some musicians are becoming more aware of the negative impact that their concert travelling has on the environment, and I think some of them want to make positive changes. But ultimately, it's up to their management and event organizers.”

It’s important for fans, musicians and venues to come together and help make concerts environmentally friendly. That way, musicians can continue to tour and fans can enjoy concerts without worrying about the impact live music has on the environment. “Concert goers can also make a significant change just by making sure to pick up and throw away any trash they left behind. I think if the artist gave the audience a simple reminder to pick up their garbage at the end of the show, people would be more likely to do it,” says Andrea.

Many musicians and festivals have partnered up with REVERB, a non-profit organization that helps musicians, festivals and venues go green by creating programs to reduce concert and tour footprints. According to www.reverb.org, REVERB has eliminated over 287,000 tons of CO2, greened

When people are attending live music events, it’s easy to forget the effect it has on the environment. So, the next time you attend a concert or festival, think of what you can do to help make a change and be aware of the impact live music has on the environment.