Green Apple Music & Arts Festival
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007) |
The Green Apple Music & Arts Festival (GAMAF) is America’s largest Earth Day celebration. Founded by music producer and former Wetlands Preserve club owner Peter Shapiro and Relix Magazine, the annual event features an eclectic array of musical performances in venues and rock clubs, as well as large-scale free public outdoor concerts. The Festival’s mission is to raise environmental awareness by combining live musical performances from diverse genres with educational outreach and cultural events suitable for all audiences. The festival is held around Earth Day, April 22, the world’s largest secular holiday observed by over a billion people each year.
In 2006, the event’s first year, the Green Apple Music & Arts Festival took place in New York City. A year later, the celebration had spread across the United States to over 60 live music venues featuring over 200 performances in New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
In 2008, continuing its partnership with Earth Day Network, Green Apple Music & Arts Festival will expand to additional U.S. cities including Miami, Washington D.C., Dallas and Denver.
“By featuring a diverse group of musicians and uniting these venues under one cause, we are able to coordinate an exciting, and unprecedented event. We hope the national footprint of the Festival will help inform as many people as possible on these important issues. And, we hope to keep expanding in future years. I think everyone would agree that Earth Day should be recognized in a big way every year.” -Peter Shapiro, Executive Producer
[edit] 2007
In 2007, The Green Apple Music & Arts Festival ran from April 20-22 in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco with over 200,000 in attendance and millions more reached through the media. Large-scale free public events were held in Central Park and on Vanderbilt Avenue outside Grand Central Terminal in New York, the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago and at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Green Apple partnered with Earth Day Network, the worldwide coordinating body for Earth Day events, campaigns and activities.
Free Performances in New York (estimated attendance: 15,000) Central Park: Laurie Berkner Band with Susie Lampert and Adam Bernstein, Brady Rymer and The Little Band that Could and Baby Loves Disco. Outside of Grand Central Terminal, Earth Day New York’s Earth Fair: (estimated attendance 100,000) Zero, Constant Wonder, State Radio, Assembly of Dust, Ozomatli, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, Gandalf Murphy and The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, and The Paul Green School of Rock Allstars withJon Anderson of YES.
Free Performances at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo (estimated attendance: 40,000) Umphrey's McGee, The Disco Biscuits, Todd Park Mohr (of Big Head Todd), Mad Professor, Paul Green’s School of Rock, The Blisters, Ella Jenkins and Deep Fried Pickle Project.
Free Performances at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park (estimated attendance: 25,000) Bob Weir & Ratdog, Stephen Marley featuring Jr. Gong, The Greyboy Allstars, Martin Sexton and Jonah Smith.
Greening
The Green Apple Music & Arts Festival put the Earth Day message into practice by “greening” all of the participating venues. Green Apple provided venues in each city with environmentally friendly cups and straws, napkins and paper towels made of recycled materials, compostable garbage bags and biodegradable cleaning materials. A goal of the Festival is to help establish long-term vendor relationships to encourage sustainable practices within venues and the music industry in general. In addition, the entire festival was made carbon neutral through the purchase of renewable energy certificates. Native Energy conducted an energy audit of the Festival and certified that the goal of being carbon neutral was met.
2007 Green Apple Performers
Performers at the Green Apple Music & Arts Festival are selected to appeal to a wide audience of adults of all ages and children. The below lists highlight many of the performers who have participated in the event:
New York- Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, Taylor Hicks, Tom Chapin, John Anderson, The Laurie Berkner Band, Junior Brown, Benevento/Russo Duo (Acoustic), Edwin McCain,John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Kaki King, Fat Mama, Tower of Power, Zero, Particle, The Radiators, Baby Loves Disco, Mahavishnu Project, Hot Buttered Rum, Raq, Tom Paxton and Richard Shindell, Jerry Joseph, Brand New, Zero, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Jake Shimabukuro,Avishai Cohen, Hiromi, Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Ryan Montbleau, Over the Rhine, Cosmic Jibaros, The Bomb Squad, Mike Dillon's Go-Go Jungle, The Bridge, Jonny Lives, Phix and Brady Rymer
Chicago- The Decemberists, Kaiser Chiefs, Umphrey's McGee, The Disco Biscuits, The Smithereens, The Walkmen, Andrew Bird, RJD2, Mad Professor, The Del McCoury Band, Paul Green’s School of Rock, Flickerstick, JJ Grey and Mofro, Brothers Past, Hoyle Brothers,New Monsoon, Juice and the Machine, The Lost Trailers, Mono, Mark Farina, Anathallo, Soulwax, and 2Many DJs.
San Francisco- Willie Nelson, Bob Weir and Ratdog, Stephen and Damian Marley, Greyboy Allstars, Yonder Mountain String Band, Martin Sexton, The Walkmen, Trans Am, Tea Leaf Green, Railroad Earth, Electric Six, Newmaster Sounds, Everyone Orchestra, Girlyman, Akasha, The Drastics, DJ Scheme and Plan B, May Lake, Kite Flying Society, Black Taj, The Sippy Cups, The English Beat, The Plimsouls, Xiu Xiu and Smoosh.
Venues
Broad participation of music venues has been a hallmark of the Green Apple Music & Arts Festival and, according to the event producers, a key to its success. The venues benefit by getting free publicity and support for talent booking, as well as receiving complimentary "green" products for audiences and performers backstage.
2007 venues included:
In New York: 14th St. Y, Ace of Clubs, The Beacon Theater, BB Kings, The Blue Note, Bowery Ballroom, Camaradas El Barrio, Canal Room, Central Park, Children's Museum of Manhattan, Crash Mansion, Fontanas, outside Grand Central Terminal (Vanderbilt Avenue), The Gramercy Theater, Housing Works Bookstore Café, Irving Plaza, Joe's Pub, Knitting Factory, Lions Den, Makor, Mercury Lounge, Mexicali Blues, New York Society for Ethical Culture, Nuyorican Poet’s Café, Rebel, Radio City Music Hall, SOB’s, Southpaw, Symphony Space.
In Chicago: Abbey Pub, alive One, The Beat Kitchen, The Cubby Bear, Schuba’s, Double Door, Elbo Room, The Empty Bottle, The House of Blues, Joe’s Bar, The Kinetic Playground, The Lincoln Park Zoo, Martyrs, The Metro, Old Town School of Folk Music, The Park West, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, The Riviera Theatre, The Store, Subterannean, The Tonic Room, The Vic, Victory Liquor, and the Wise Fools Pub
In San Francisco: 12 Galaxies, 365 Club, Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center, Bimbo's Boom Boom Room, Bottom of the Hill, Cafe Du Nord, De Young Museum, Elbo Room, The Fillmore, Golden Gate Park, Knockout, Makeout Room, Mezzanine, Rooster's Roadhouse, Ruby Skye, Swedish American Hall, Sweetwater, Independent and Uptown Nightclub.
Volunteers:
Each year, volunteers have been encouraged to join the Green Apple Music & Arts Festival team. Volunteers assist staff in manning tables at music venue, distributing non-profit and sponsor information and helping with event set-up and deliveries. Over the course of 2006 and 2007, approximately 400 volunteers have joined the Green Apple team.
[edit] 2006
The first annual Green Apple Music & Arts festival was held at over 35 venues in the New York City area and ran from April 20-23. On Thursday, April 20, The Sixth Annual Jammy Awards show (Jammys)at Madison Square Garden kicked off the festivities. Jammys performances included: Blues Traveler, Guster, Peter Frampton, Martin Sexton, Béla Fleck and The Flecktones, and many more. The festival concluded at The Ziegfeld Theatre with the world premiere of the film Wetlands Preserved directed by Relix senior editor and Jambands.com founder Dean Budnick and executive produced by Peter Shapiro. The documentary examines the social, political and musical history of the celebrated New York City rock club The Wetlands.
Environmental presence The entire event was made carbon neutral. Tabling occurred at each venue promoting ways to get involved in the environmental movement and artists like the Scissor Sisters made stage announcements reminding concert goers to live sustainably. Earth Fair featured booths from environmentally sound companies alongside talent provide by GAMAF.
Performers Scissor Sisters, Antibalas, Assembly of Dust, Avail, Baaba Maal,Dan Bern, Blues Traveler, Björkestra, Cary Brothers, Amy Correia, The Deedle Deedle Dees, Deep Banana Blackout, The Dirty Sock Funtime Band, Mike Doughty, The Dresden Dolls, DJ Equal, The Fab Faux, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, Bill Frissell, Gabrielle and Dresden, Ghostface, Guster, Mickey Hart, Richie Havens, Islands, Etta James, The Steve Kimock Band, Kaki King, Bill Kreutzmann, Grateful Dead archivist David Lemeiux, Little Feat, Mad Professor, Main Squeeze Orchestra, Stephen and Ky-Mani Marley, Max Creek, Milkshake, Ryan Montbleau, Murray Hill, Charlie Musselwhite, Mutaytor, Dr. Nebula’s Planetary Vacation, The New York Philharmonic, Nouvelle Vague (band), Particle, Yosi Piamenta and the Heavenly Jams Band, Perpetual Groove, Josh Radin, Rose Hill Drive, Martin Sexton, Slick Rick, The Slip, Jonah Smith, Soulive, Strangefolk, Ben Taylor, Toots & The Maytals, Toubab Krewe, Umphrey's McGee, and Zen Tricksters
2006 and 2007 Sponsors and Partners
Corporate sponsors of the Green Apple Music & Arts Festival have included JPMorgan Chase, Tropicana, Saturn,Target Corporation, Vonage, Clif Bar, Whole Foods, Rough Guides and Sonicbids.
Partners and media sponsors include Lime.com, Tree Hugger, Onyx Distribution, Zip Car, Green Order, [NativeEnergy]http://www.nativeenergy.com, Conservation Value, imeem, JamBase, Time Out New York, Time Out Chicago, WABC-TV, WXRT, SF Weekly, Q104.3, and WFUV, Earth Day New York, The Central Park Conservancy and the Lincoln Park Zoo.
