Green Music Festival

To the billions of people who don't have a solid kilo of cash to drop, don't go to Beijing. You don't have  to attend the "free" Earth Day concert in the People's Republic this spring to save the planet. There is a second show of Peace much closer to home, and another prospect closer to your office, and a one potentially closer to your local power plant. In fact, there are plenty of reasons not to go to Beijing this spring, but the best one is that getting to China is really, really hard.

Instead, you know what would be nice? Some delicious, locally grown food down the street from where you're reading this right now. Nicer still would be riding a bicycle there; and downright decadent would be a free bike valet waiting when you got there.

Yes, that would be wonderful, but how about a drink? I'm thinking brews served in biodegradable cups, which would mean music, because there's no logical reason not to have music if there are drinks. This will probably lead to dancing, which will probably lead to meeting people, which could in all honesty lead to a really good time.

If you're a resident of Chicago all this is open to you during the summer months at the Green Music Festival. Last year the show featured a two-day lineup of environmentally positive players, most of whom are from the Midwest, some of whom don't sound alternative in the least. Yes, a few bands (tapes 'n tapes and Elsinore) sound like digitally photocopied The Killers and Arcade Fire, but there are oddballs in the mix who rise to the top as the headliners.

Art Brut was the band from farthest afield last year (England and Germany), and could not have been more endearing. They pump a combination of storytelling and disco that allows for such lyrics profound enough to ask, "I know I shouldn't, is it so wrong? To break from your kiss, to turn up the pop song?" Lucero was the headliner the second night (punk-country-folk-rock), but all the talent at the festival was sharp enough to make for an exhausting two days of splendor in the grass.

Not everybody can ride their bike to Chicago; and it may be mainstream, but doing something wildly fun and subversive on Earth Day is still appealing. For a starter list of places you can go during that third week in April, mosey on over here.

Music and environmentalism have always had a fertile relationship, from Joni Mitchell to Paul Simon to Radiohead and an entire new wave of artists. It's not at all safe to say that what is good for music is good for the environment; but a good environment is always, always good for music. Keep your green at home and give your local artists a cheer. They may just grow faster than China's GDP.

If your neighborhood has a massive or a micro-green fiesta coming up, let people know about it below. If you're in a band that would play there, leave a note as well.

Photo credit: E. Bartholomew