Go green! That’s the mantra some Canadian musicians are choosing to follow when they hit the road. With record sales lagging, more bands have been touring to make ends meet, and it's not without a cost to the environment.
A study by Julie's Bicycle, a non-profit organization set up by the music industry, found that the combined greenhouse gas emissions from international touring of bands, orchestras and theatre totalled 107,000 tonnes in 2009, and with more bands touring, those numbers have most likely increased. Fortunately, many bands have been taking steps to make their tours green, including a number of Canadians. In celebration we've whipped up a list of artists leading the pack when it comes to green touring.
Rich Aucoin
In 2007, Rich Aucoin toured across Canada on a bicycle and performed his show while raising money for kids with cancer, cutting off a chunk of his hair during each performance.
The Weakerthans and Constantines
The Weakerthans and Constantines went green on their Rolling Tundra Revue tour all across Canada in 2009. Hoping to cut back on the environmental impact of the tour, the bands cut back on fuel and electricity. The band also asked fans to use transit, carpools or human power to get to their shows.
Sarah Harmer
In 2005, Sarah Harmer co-founded Protecting Escarpment Rural Land, an organization that campaigned to protect the Niagara Escarpment from a proposed gravel development. To support the organization, Harmer and her band went on a tour of the escarpment, hiking the Bruce Trail and performing along the way.
Neil Young
In 2009, Neil Young released his album, Fork in the Road, which is dedicated to the LincVolt project that transformed Young’s classic Lincoln Continental into a hot, zero-emissions vehicle. Back in the 1970s on his album On the Beach, Young presented mankind as a vampire preying upon the earth in the song “Vampire Blues.” On his hit song “Rockin’ in the Free World,” Young sarcastically bragged about humanity having “Styrofoam boxes for the ozone layer … fuel to burn and roads to drive.”
Barenaked Ladies
The Ladies fuel their trucks and buses with biodiesel, specifically B20, a blend of 20 per cent biofuel, derived from waste oil products or plants such as soy or canola, and 80 per cent diesel. The band also sets up eco-villages they call Barenaked Planet, recycling and composting backstage debris and buying carbon offsets. They ask their fans to help out by taking some of the band’s recyclables and compost materials home in their cars.
Drake
Drake’s tour bus runs on biodiesel, he uses recycling and composting stations at each stop, biodegradable catering supplies, eco-friendly cleaning supplies, catering cooked with local, organic food as well as sells merchandise made of sustainable materials.
Jeremy Fisher, Aidan Knight, Hannah Georgas, Said the Whale
An eight-piece musical collective that toured British Columbia by bicycle and pedalled their gear from gig to gig. The idea was conceived by Jeremy Fisher, who has toured across North America by bike three times.
Related links:
Is touring sustainable for bands?