Rock the Earth’s 12th annual summer education and outreach tour is already off to a busy start with environmental education and activation taking place all over the United States in just a few short weeks. As has been the case every year since 2005, Rock the Earth’s touring team, lead by interim Tour Coordinator Axel Tomac, kicked off at Summer Camp where we engaged with hundreds of attendees, collected a number of mobile devices for recycling, exceeded our expectations for new memberships, and raised well over $3,000 – all in in one weekend!
Meanwhile, our mid-Atlantic regional crew, headed up again by dedicated volunteer Rob Hillard along with new regional intern Shannon Keib, took the reins to conduct environmental education & activation at DelFest where they collected over 100 mobile devices, gained dozens of new members, and generally had an awesome time enjoying the sweet bluegrass tunes of the DelFest house band, the Del McCoury band, and their friends. In fact, with a dedicated regional intern on board this summer, we’ve been able to expand operations by working shows on nearly a weekly basis in the Capital region, working shows such as Billy & the Kids, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Rusted Root and the epic Dear Jerry concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, to honor 50 years of the Grateful Dead.
There was no rest for our touring team as they quickly hit the road with old friends the Dave Matthews Band as part of the Reverb eco-village. Since 2004, Rock the Earth has worked with DMB more than any other band, tabling at well over 100 concerts with the touring perennials. Once again, DMB fans welcomed us with open arms in Georgia and Alabama. The team then headed to the Ozark mountains for Wakarusa, a festival we haven’t worked in a number of years, before heading north to Tennessee for our annual pilgrimage to the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Lastly, our touring team enjoyed a few days off before reuniting with 2014 touring partners Rodrigo y Gabriella for a run of shows in the northeastern U.S., after which the team rejoined the Dave Matthews Band for more shows in the area.
Out in Colorado, as summer continues to heat up, nearly daily thunderstorms have challenged our team’s work. Despite less-than-ideal weather, Rock the Earth managed to educate and activate fans about our new Continental Divide campaign at shows by bands such as The Decemberists, Bassnectar, 2015 Planet Defender Award Winner Xavier Rudd, the Motet, and Big Head Todd and the Monsters. The team then took the entire effort back to the Sonic Bloom Festival.
As we look to the next month, we’re excited to be heading back to All Good Festival and starting our work on tours with two new partner tours: the Tedeschi Trucks Band with Sharon Jones & the Dapkings, and Primus with Dinosaur Jr. Summer’s just getting started and we’re excited for what it will bring for Rock the Earth!
