Green Music Festivals????

Subject: Green Music Festivals????
From: Barry Finn
Date: 02 Mar 08 - 07:25 AM

I attended a folk festival few yrs back, I think it was the Boston Folk Festival or the Hudson River Revival but I'm not sure. They announced that the main stage was completely powered by solar energy or other non fossil fueled power. Has anyone else run across other festivals using other alt energy sources to power their sound, lights & equipment?
And why not?
Couldn't most of the Sea Music Festivals use wind (the ones closest to the sea kind of blow & suck anyway,,,joke) & the Tall Ships Festivals, can't they use sail power (don't they rag bag the breezes?)?

Joking aside, if it caught on maybe some of the Rock Festivals would turn acoustic & the acoustic festivals would turn more folkie.

Really though, I think it's a great idea if it could be cost effective & noe oe would have to worry if it started to rain with all the power cords running about through the puddles.

When I got married on our farm we had a traditional Irish dance band playing on a make shift stage under a tent in case of rain. When it started to thunder & lightning. I told the band to go inside the barn other wise they'd have fried. Some folkies & dance musicians have no common sense about them. They turned out to become very good freinds, I should've left them on stage to fry. It never poured as hard again, the fields all flooded as well as the floor under the bran, knee deep everywhere.

Thanks
Barry

Subject: RE: Green Music Festivals????
From: Barry Finn
Date: 02 Mar 08 - 07:43 AM

It was the Clearwater Festival & Hudson River Revival that I was thinking of, of course. But don't let that stop any of you from dicussing this further.

Barry

Subject: RE: Green Music Festivals????
From: Leadfingers
Date: 02 Mar 08 - 08:01 AM

There is a 'Green Camp' near Sidmouth every summer - Not a Festival , but a crowd of enthusiasts exploring alternative power - Wind , Heat Exchange , etc !
They even have a Television connected to a generator on a Bicycle frame ! Pedal hard enough and you can watch T V

Subject: RE: Green Music Festivals????
From: Barry Finn
Date: 02 Mar 08 - 08:07 AM

That's HD TV Terry, Hard Driven

Barry

Subject: RE: Green Music Festivals????
From: MaineDog
Date: 02 Mar 08 - 08:46 AM

The real trouble with folk festivals is that all the true folkies want to come in their RV's at about 8 mpg, and run their generators a lot, making lots of noise and CO2. Been there, done that, esp at Old Songs.
Even if the event is green, the fact of lots of people attending is not.
So, they must be done on line, with web cams and hi tech sound gear.

The leader could lay down a track, and send it to the banjo player, who would add some noise, and then to concertina player, to try to fix it, and on to the fiddler to jazz it up, and to the accordion to wreck it again, and all around, and then when it gets back to the leader again, it can go out to all in the finished form!
MD

Subject: RE: Green Music Festivals????
From: Barry Finn
Date: 02 Mar 08 - 10:26 AM

So how does Clearwater do it then? Have you checked out the link & seen their site?

Barry

Subject: RE: Green Music Festivals????
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 02 Mar 08 - 11:23 AM

I haven't checked the link, but this isn't anything new. Way back in the days of MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy), there have been festivals and tours that use these sorts of set ups. Farm Aid I think used one for awhile. All of Bonnie Raitt's tour buses & trucks use 'the French Fry' power.

But the point that the attendees aren't doing it green is significant. Personally, I think the time has come to draw these huge events off the list of 'good things to do for entertainment'.

But what do I know? They just opened one of those behemoth movie theatre parks in our neighborhood with what, 800 or so screens. Think of the cost of heating and cooling those sorts of venues!!!

It is criminal, I tell you. Criminal!

Subject: RE: Green Music Festivals????
From: dulcimerjohn
Date: 02 Mar 08 - 11:57 AM

We are putting together a 'green stage' using solar panels etc for use at our shows here at Smokehouse Meadery, also to be rented out for shows in the northern/central Va area. Will list the lineup for this year soon...Dulcimerjohn

Subject: RE: Green Music Festivals????
From: MaineDog
Date: 02 Mar 08 - 12:22 PM

I have this mental image of the sloop Clearwater sailing up and down the Hudson, coming ashore in the evenings, and folks walking down to the dock to see the show. Hardly any carbon footprint at all.
MD

Subject: RE: Green Music Festivals????
From: Folkiedave
Date: 02 Mar 08 - 02:51 PM

Wychwood FEstival at Cheltenham Racecourse has a solar powered cinema.

http://www.wychwoodfestival.com/cinema.html