(Francisco Rendon, Pollstar)
Jack Johnson is credited by some as setting a “Gold Standard” for sustainable touring – though he acknowledges it’s a continuing learning process as technologies and best practices evolve and conditions change. He cites Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Dave Matthews Band and U2 as sources of inspiration, and has tried things he learned performing at events like Farm Aid and Fuji Rock Festival at his own Kokua Festival. One initiative Johnson is currently excited about is the Hawaiian organization Chef Hui, which during COVID-19 is allowing people to pick up food and is donating meals and facilitating financial support for first responders and people in need, while developing the capacity of local food production on the islands, where the vast majority of food is shipped in. There year he is hosting Kokua Festival 2020 – Live From Home on April 25 to celebrate Earth Day. Pollstar caught up with Johnson on the eve of the 50th Earth Day to learn more about the green touring initiatives he continues to pioneer.
Why Tour At All? “The simple math states that staying at home and not touring is the greenest thing I can do. But if I quit the road, the touring industry continues on, and I decided I wanted to participate and be part of this industry and try to make it greener.”