Image via Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson is kicking off the release of his new album, To the Sea, and subsequent summer tour in a fitting way for a singer-songwriter with surfer roots and an ocean-themed album title: with a beach clean-up!

On Saturday, May 22, Johnson and Heal the Bay will host a two-hour beach clean-up at Santa Monica Bay. For doing their part to keep California beaches garbage-free, Johnson will treat participants to a free concert at the pier on May 24.

With tickets for the show limited to the first 2,000 participants, you can imagine that it didn’t take long before they were all snatched up.

But don’t despair if you missed out! You can still win tickets by following @jackjohnson and @brushfire on Twitter. They’re giving away a pair of tickets to Twitter followers each day through May 23. Local radio stations KROQ, 98.7, KCRW, and MYFM will also feature ticket giveaways.

Recorded at Johnson’s two solar-powered studios – The Mango Tree in Hawaii and the Solar Powered Plastic Plant in Los Angeles – To The Sea is already on the fast track to success. The first single, “You and Your Heart,” sold 148,000 digital downloads since its release on iTunes in April.

Here’s a preview:

Following in the green footsteps of his 2008 tour, Johnson will again donate 100% of the 2010 tour’s proceeds to charity.

That’s not a typo – Jackson won’t make a dime off the tour.

As part of Johnson’s All At Once campaign, all funds generated from the tour will support over 150 nonprofit organizations working on sustainable local food systems and plastic waste reduction projects. Considering the 2008 tour raised $900,000 for charity, Johnson’s generosity can make a big difference on these issues.

And you can bet Johnson’s got some green touring tricks up his sleeve too. Biodiesel-fueled vehicles, eco-friendly merchandise, and ride share programs are just a few of the green actions planned. They’ll also encourage both venues and fans to reduce waste, recycle, use water refill stations, and offset carbon emissions.

After a handful of European dates in June, Jack Johnson embarks on a U.S. coast-to-coast tour, starring in Hartford, Connecticut on October 14 and ending in Santa Barbara for a two-night finale July 8-9. To see if Jack is coming to a city near you, visit the tour schedule. To the Sea will be released on June 1.

via Treehugger

Image via the Hangout Festival

What started out as the newest music festival on the block has quickly evolved into much more. In response to the environmental devastation of the Gulf oil spill, the Hangout Beach, Music & Arts Festival has been reinvented as the Concert for the Coast.

The festival – which takes place May 14-16 in Gulf Shores, Alabama – will donate all its proceeds to coastal protection and restoration.

Headliners include Trey Anastasio, John Legend, Ben Harper, The Black Crowes, Girl Talk, Michael Franti & Spearhead, and Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Festival organizers are taking a three-pronged approach to coastal recovery by: 1) promoting activism, 2) increasing public awareness, and 3) fundraising to benefit nonprofit organizations that will help the people, communities, and habitats affected by this disaster.

Activism
HeadCount will be in attendance, running a supply drive to collect needed items like baby blankets and towels and helping festival-goers write letters to Congress about offshore drilling and energy reform.

Awareness
The final day of the festival showcases a speaker panel with Adam Gardner of Guster and Reverb reknown, a national leader from the Sierra Club, and more. They’ll discuss offshore drilling, US dependence on foreign oil, and how musicians and fans can make a difference.

Fundraising
Two additional late-night benefit shows have been added to the schedule. On May 14, Alex B, Gift of Gab (Blackalicious), and Big Gigantic will take the stage, with proceeds going to Mobile Baykeeper. Keller Williams’ Electronic Experiment will host a special benefit show the following evening, on May 15, to support the Rex Foundation and Mobile Baykeeper.

Limited edition posters, signed by artists performing at the festival, will be auctioned off to raise even more funds.

But wait, that’s not all! On May 16, the Concert for the Coast will extend to New Orleans as well. Calling itself Gulf Aid, the New Orleans show will feature Lenny Kravitz, John Legend, Ani DiFranco, Allen Toussaint, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Mos Def, and more. Proceeds go to Gulf Relief Foundation, which will distribute funds to help fisherman and the region’s seafood industry as well as the restoration of coastal wetlands.

via Jambase

Image via Earth Day Network

Earth Day is getting quite the party for it’s 40th birthday.

And what’s a party without a little entertainment?

Passion Pit, the Roots, Mavis Staples, Honor Society, John Legend, Sting, Booker T, Joss Stone, and more will rock the National Mall on Sunday, April 25 to wrap up a week of Earth Day events held ’round the globe.

But it’s not all play and no work. We’ve come a long way since the first Earth Day in 1970, but there’s still important work to do.

The Climate Rally calls for Congress to adopt comprehensive climate legislation to create clean energy jobs, curb global warming, and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

Politicians and activists like Reverend Jesse Jackson, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, author Margaret Atwood, and NFL player Dhani Jones will also lend their support to the event.

If you can’t make it to DC, the festivities will be streamed live on Earth Day Network’s website.

via Earth Day Network

Photo via MySpace

Pearl Jam, through a partnership with the Cascade Land Conservancy, is offsetting more than 7,000 metric tons of carbon emissions from their 2009 tour. The $210,000 project involves planting 33 acres of native trees and plants in their home state of Washington.

If you’ve been following Pearl Jam’s long history of social and environmental activism, this comes as no surprise. The band has backed lots of great causes over the years, from fighting Ticketmaster’s exorbitant service fees to supporting organizations like Wild Salmon Center, Conservation International, and People for Puget Sound.

What’s more, the band has partially reduced their tours’ carbon footprints since 2003. The difference this time around is that they’re offsetting more than 100% of their carbon emissions.

It’s part of the band’s business philosophy to make sustainability a priority. As Stone Gossard, Pearl Jam’s guitarist and co-founder, explains:

“Businesses have an opportunity to lead the way in becoming a more conscious economy, one that views the health of our environment as inseparable from our personal and economic well being…we hope other businesses will join us in this effort.”

And the buck doesn’t stop here. The band is already planning to offset all of its carbon emissions for their current tour, and is even looking into expanding its efforts to take into account album manufacturing and distribution. Rock on.

via Reuters

Image via Sasquatch! Music Festival

Music festival season is upon us. One of the first on my radar? The Sasquatch! Music Festival at the Gorge Ampitheatre in George, Washington, which takes place over Memorial Day weekend May 29-31.

Sasquatch! always has a stellar lineup and this year is no exception.The 2010 roster includes the likes of She & Him (reason enough to attend…do I even have to go on?), the xx, Dirty Projectors, MGMT, the National, Girls, and Vampire Weekend, just to name a few.

But Sasquatch! has got more goin’ on than just a cool name (second only to Bonnaroo!) and an enviable lineup. There’s some great green initiatives planned too.

Although not quite on the same level as some other festivals, Sasquatch is ramping up their efforts, taking even bigger green steps compared to last year. Here’s the highlights:

Carpooling. Esurance is promoting a Rideshare Rewards program that will give away some coveted prizes – like VIP passes for Saturday – to folks who sign up to carpool via their site. The first 100 cars filled to capacity to arrive at the show will also get premium parking.

Recycling. Last year, Sasquatch! festival-goers recycled enough plastic and paper to cover 20 football fields. This year, Sasquatch! hopes to increase the amount of recyclables diverted from the landfill.

Buying Carbon Offsets. In addition to being powered by 100% wind, the event will be certified carbon neutral by Carbon Harmony. Well, more like carbon negative. They’ll be offsetting 125% of the greenhouse gas emissions generated by all energy use as well as the fuel consumption of artists, attendees, staff, and vendors.

Showcasing Hybrid Vehicles. Honda, an official eco-partner, is also jumping in on the action. They’ll be showing off their hybrid vehicles in the Honda Hybrid Zone, sponsoring the Big Foot Solar Stage, and providing a bicycle-powered charging station for personal electronics.

Unfortunately, Sasquatch! is sold out. But you can read all about the green goings on at Sasquatch!’s Green page.

Photo via the Green Girls

Janine Johnson, Green Girl and founder of Green Wave, is giving the Crystal Method an eco makeover.

First on the list is greening the band’s rider. On tour, Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland ask for backstage amenities like reusable plates, utensils, and cups; local, organic food and beverages; reduced disposables; and recycling bins.

What’s especially cool about this – other than the fact that the duo specifically requests organic vodka – is that a green rider is about more than lessening a band’s carbon footprint. When artists ask for greener options, it forces venues to think about the impacts of their own operations. (Hey, maybe we should do this for all our artists.) Sneaky, but surprisingly effective.

Janine has also helped Ken and Scott green their wardrobes. The band now sports environmentally and socially responsible clothing from the likes of Revenge Is, Simple Shoes, Rise Up International, and Covenant Green.

And the green initiatives runneth over to the other side of the stage as well. The Crystal Method promotes carpooling to their fans through social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook. The “Eco Table” is now a standard feature at their gigs, where audience members can get information about organizations like Save the Blue, 1 Sky, and Sea Shepherd.

The Crystal Method are currently on tour in support of their latest album, Divided by Night. Follow the progress of their green makeover at the Green Girls website.