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Is a climate-friendly future for live music possible?
When Massive Attack announced their first show on British soil in five years, it naturally generated a buzz of excitement and scramble for tickets.
It also shone a glaring spotlight on live music’s impact on the planet.
From performer and audience travel to waste and energy use, gigs and festivals generate enormous levels of climate-damaging emissions.
is needed now More than ever
Massive Attack’s ‘Act 1.5 – Climate Action Acceleration’ show is their latest effort in 25 years of speaking and acting out for the planet. In 2019 the band decided to tour by train rather than fly between European dates and, in 2001, they collaborated with the Tyndall Centre for Climate Research (TCCR) on a decarbonisation roadmap for live music.
They say their one-off concert on the Downs on August 25 will be the lowest carbon show of its size ever staged.
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The gig’s production, lighting and catering will all be powered by renewable energy. Ticket priority was initially given to local residents, and a shuttle bus service will run from Bristol centre to limit car use – where the TCCR reports that 65-80% of greenhouse gas emissions are generated by audience travel to live events.
The event will feature meat-free vendors that source products locally and, following the event, the band plan to plant a new woodland in the Bristol area.
But while the Massive Attack show is arguably bringing the issue to the biggest audience, Bristol initiatives have been tackling it in their own way for many years.
Team Love, producers of Love Saves The Day, Forwards and Simple Things, have implemented sustainability measures which granted them a commended status by A Greener Festival in 2023.
In one of their most intriguing projects, they collaborated with Temple Design Studio to develop a regenerative construction material from mycelium. The fungal root network puffs up into a polystyrene-like material when fed with agricultural waste.
The biodegradable resource was designed as a potential replacement for concrete and other wasteful construction products that are used once for festival builds, then thrown away.
It was used to create the Hayes Pavilion at Glastonbury 2023 which won a Greener Innovation award this year. Wake the Tiger has also put mycelium to innovative use: it has been embedded into the floor and walls of the amazement park’s Sanctuary room.
The award-winning mycelium pavilion at Glastonbury festival 2023 was an experiment in sustainable construction – photo: Team Love
Team Love has also partnered with Music Declares Emergency, an arm of activist group Extinction Rebellion. The campaign, appearing at Forwards Festival over August 31 and September 1, was launched in in 2019.
“We believe that music has a crucial role to play in the fight to preserve our planet,” says co-founder Fay Milton, drummer in Savages.
“We know that many people feel powerless about climate change and environmental breakdown. Our goal is to harness the power of music to bring audiences together to create a mass movement to drive positive change.”
Their headline No Music on a Dead Planet pledge brings global artists together, helping them to speak out with a shared voice on the climate issue. It’s supported by over 4,000 artists and 1500 music industry organisations, including Radiohead, Jarvis Cocker, Idles, Peggy Seeger, Sam Fender, and Universal, Warner and Sony.
“By using music’s global stage and influence, we are building public support for urgent climate action promoting a healthy environment, climate justice, and a liveable future for all life on Earth,” says Milton.
Bristol musician Geoff Barrow, one third of Beak> and formerly of Portishead, has signed up to the pledge. He says it’s a way for musicians to express solidarity.
“It is an emergency. But other than joining national and local organisations, it’s very difficult for smaller bands to actively do things themselves,” he tells Bristol24/7.
“It’s been hellish for the music industry, decimated by Covid and Brexit. Beak> were one of the first to tour in Europe after lockdown and it was almost impossible. We can try not to fly but the vans we hire are expensive and they aren’t electric.
“So there are all these pressing issues affecting musicians and then, at the end of it, to turn around and go ‘Can we make sure there’s no plastic?’ It’s a hard thing to insist on.”
Barrow says the time is ripe for change, but the political incentive isn’t quite there yet.
“I think all music fans will be receptive to do something for the environment. If I go to a gig and it’s straight up disposable plastic, I think – why are you doing nothing about it? But it needs to go back to the law, to put that pressure on.”
In the meantime, he says, it’s up to major acts to influence change, namechecking Coldplay and Billy Eilish as well as Massive Attack.
“The people that really make the difference are the bigger bands. They create a lot of waste, a lot of people travel to their gigs – and ultimately it’s to entertain people and make money. So there should be guilt, and it’s right that they’re taking responsibility,” Barrow says.
“They’ve got a voice, one that goes right across the globe.”
Becka Whiteley, part of the Shambala festival team, agrees: “People really listen to what their favourite artists have to say. I’d love to see more of them using their platforms to promote change,” she says.
Shambala, another August bank holiday weekender, is held in Northamptonshire but is the brainchild of Bristol’s Kambe Events. It has long flown the flag for festival sustainability; Whiteley explains why.
“We’re in the incredible position of having a hugely engaged audience community of thousands,” she explains, “So we can’t, in good conscience, not use that platform to try and spark behaviour change around the climate crisis.”
Festivals are in a unique position: “We have the opportunity to show people different ways of living,” says Whiteley. “The best way to change the world is to have more fun than people that aren’t trying – and make sure they see you doing it!”
Shambala runs on renewable power, banned single use plastics in 2013 and has eliminated disposable cups on site. It has been proudly meat and fish-free since 2016, saving an estimated 100 tons of greenhouse gases each year. Swapping cow’s milk for dairy-free alternatives saves the equivalent of two Olympic swimming pools of water per festival.
And the impact is long-term: a post-event survey revealed going veggie at the festival convinced 25% of meat-eating attendees to reduce their intake or give up meat altogether.
Shambala say their audience has been positive about changes they’ve implemented such as banning meat, which has gone on to encourage long term change in attendees – photo: C Faruolo
Some blame the industry’s slow sustainability progress on a fear of putting off punters; but Whiteley says that’s never been a problem with Shambala.
“Our audience have been brilliant,” she says. “They get it, and take responsibility for doing their bit – which is why for several years we’ve not had a single tent left behind.”
She feels the success is partly down to their emphasis on a two-way conversation: “Making people feel part of a community who are listened to is heaps more effective than making them feel preached at.”
So what else can live music events do to accelerate climate action?
“We’d love to see them saying no to brand sponsors that have a terrible impact on the environment – like fast fashion or car companies,” says Whiteley – referencing, perhaps, the Audi-sponsored Wilderness Festival or ‘Barclaycard presents’ Isle of Wight.
“The amount of flights taken during touring is also a biggie, but there are amazing organisations like Ecolibrium that offset touring miles and turn them into investments in community energy projects.”
And with a bit of thought, festival-goers can contribute to lowering the impact of the events they love. “Audience travel is one of the biggest impacts remaining,” says Whiteley. “Arriving by coach, train, or bike makes a huge difference to that footprint. And if you do really need to drive, make sure there’s a bum on every seat.”
Main photo: Ania Shrimpton
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