In the face of vocal denialists, climate substitution is taking its toll, be it through wildfires in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. Or through the harsh heat waves that grip most of the United States and Europe. Paris and London recently recorded their hottest temperatures on record, and forecasters predicted no immediate relief was in sight. And just in time to raise awareness, the upcoming Big Climate Thing: A Concert For People and the Planet, a three-day concert series taking place September 16-18 at Forest Hills Stadium. Sponsored through Climate Control Presents (CCP), fans will be able to enjoy sets from a host of top artists including Khruangbin, Haim, The Roots, Sheryl Crow, The Flaming Lips, Gary Clark Jr. and Courtney Barnett. The purpose is to raise awareness, empower and take action, and motivate responses in real time around the global climate crisis by connecting with the audience through the transformative force of music. For Perry Serpa, CCP spouse and head of artist and media relations, this multiple technique is an effective way to convey a vital, existential message. “The purpose of showcasing this multi-generational lineup of artists who are climate-conscious music creators is to raise awareness of the climate emergency,” he explained. “There’s weather programming and a lot of site activations and curated content. Most of those artists, at least to some extent, have spoken out on the climate change factor. They spoke to their own audience about the weather, so this is an opportunity to bring other people together in a not unusual way and be there for the planet.
Serpa, along with partners Kurt Langer and Paul Biedrzycki, founded CCP in 2020 and combined an organization of music industry veterans and activists along the way. The purpose of the organization is to paint within popular culture to create awareness, accountability and action around the Climate Factor replaces by generating content and events that interact with the public and attach them in a private point to the climate crisis, leading them to accessible and actionable information. And although CCP is only a few years old, Serpa and Langer, old friends and veterans of the music industry, raised the concept of what has become The Big Climate Thing as early as 2016.
“Kurt existed more in the activist area thanks to his delight in participating in the Tibetan Freedom Concerts,” Serpa said. “I have to say that he also encouraged me in the years to come. that’s because it was at a time when our conversations weren’t much more than remembering what we did with CFTs 20 years ago. And then the replacement of the regime in 2016 fostered a certain artistic reaction and a sense of activism in us. Over time, it’s become transparent to us that after [Trump] pulled out of the Paris climate accords, we felt we had to do something about it from that point on. This went from the bottom of our minds to the front of the mind.
The two friends spent most of Trump’s tenure trying to refine their concepts of what to do, while having many conversations with other people they knew in the industry. music. Langer brought in as a partner Paul Biedrzycki, a filmmaker with whom he had painted on a climate film project. And just as plans to hold a weather event coinciding with the 2020 Democratic and Republican National Conventions came together, COVID-19 arrived. And while Serpa and his band of climate activists were disoriented by the pandemic, the moment turned out to be a form of kismet. “[With the pandemic] everyone was forced to go underground and it was a year and a half job to throw wood and figure out who we were,” Serpa said. “It ended up being a blessing in disguise because we needed to do those things and explore who we were as an organization, figure out what we were looking to do and how we sought to do it. It ended up creating clarity in us and gave us time to figure out how to paint together.
Among the projects proposed through CCP was the creation of BigUp, a virtual platform that is expected to be presented later this year. This app creates a position where artists and the public, creators and consumers can converge on a non-judgmental network to take opposite measures. to the replenishment of the climate. A user’s feed will come with tips, nudges, challenges, inspiring content, and measurable goals that link non-public interests with undeniable moves that can have a lasting impact. In addition, CCP created The Big Climate Lab, a one-of-a-kind Innovation Studio focused on in-depth studies and progression to catalyze industry replenishment within the music industry. of transformative goals for the decarbonization of live music.
The willingness to collaborate at the center of this motion led CCP to call EarthPercent as the official charitable spouse of The Big Climate Thing. EarthPercent is a non-profit organization based in the U. S. The U. S. , originally founded in the UK through Brian Eno, providing artists and the music industry is an undeniable way to help those at the forefront of climate action while reducing the impact of music on the planet. to take ambitious action to end the climate crisis. One way was to decide that Forest Hills Stadium would host the Great Climate Thing due to its low carbon footprint thanks to its location near a transit hub that serves multiple subways, buses, and exercise. lines.
Tickets for The Big Climate Thing are on sale lately with a three-day pass at $268, plus applicable taxes and fees. One-day passes priced at $119 were recently announced.
Serpa, who organized the exhibition, was keen to tap into the musical synergy and used another socially conscious musical event, the 1979 No Nukes concert at Madison Square Garden, as inspiration. “Personally, I’ve been drawn to this concept of employing music as a tool for social replacement and social impact,” he said. “When I started working with [Forest Hills music promoter] Mike Luba, I combined that and thought about the talent, directing the show and what kind of conceptual feeling would be. I kept going back to No Nukes and what it looked like. Really relevant, spontaneous and effective.
Visit www. thebigclimatething. com for tickets and information.
January 18
longislandweekly
January 14
longislandweekly
January 8
longislandweekly
December 22
longislandweekly
December 18
longislandweekly
December 15