How a pop band tries to turn concertgoers into climate activists

At Denver’s Ball Arena, thousands of fans of multi-platinum indie pop group AJR do the wave. The massive, coordinated wave as concertgoers throw their arms in the air instantly unites the hall.

It’s this kind of massive, coordinated energy that AJR bassist and climate activist Adam Met wants to harness.

“Can we actually capture that power in the concert space and use it to get people to do more?” says Met, who also runs the climate change research and advocacy nonprofit Planet Reimagined.

Amy Harris / Invision/AP

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Invision/AP

AJR filled arenas across the country this summer with his Maybe, man Tour with bizarre, existential hits like “Bang!”, “Burn the House Down” and “World’s Smallest Violin”.

Additionally, the band partnered with local nonprofits in each city to inspire concertgoers to take local action right there at the arena to reduce the impacts of man-made climate change.

Getting fans to do more

According to data from Planet Reimagined and verified by its local nonprofit partners, concertgoers at AJR’s two Salt Lake City shows sent 625 letters and 77 handwritten postcards to Utah lawmakers urging them to reduce the amount of water diverted from the Great Salt Lake.

“In Phoenix, they sent more than 1,000 letters to the City Council urging them to recognize extreme heat as a climate emergency,” Met said. “In Chicago, 200 fans sent letters to Illinois lawmakers urging them to pass the Illinois Clean Jobs Platform, which supports investments in expanding transportation and power grids.”

These seem like tiny numbers. But they have an impact.

“So if you have 30, 40 or 50 people live and being encouraged to support the agenda of a particular nonprofit and they’re all sending emails at the same time, that’s definitely going to get the attention of lawmakers because that’s unusual,” said Bradford Fitch, president and CEO of the nonpartisan Congressional Management Foundation, which has researched the outreach of lawmakers. “That doesn’t happen very often.”

Artists for climate activism

As part of a broader environmental movement in the music industry, more and more artists are working to educate concert ticket buyers about man-made climate change.

“We’re seeing more and more artists, venues and festival teams raising their overall sustainability ambitions,” said Lucy August-Perna, global head of sustainability at music event promoter and venue operator Live Nation.

Artists like Billie Eilish have discussed the topic on stage.

“The majority of this show is currently powered by solar energy,” Eilish said at last year’s Lollapalooza festival in Chicago. “We really, really need to do a better job of protecting this (expletive) planet.”

Many other artists, including the Dave Matthews Band, The 1975 and My Morning Jacket, also invite activist groups to share information at concert venues.

“We have tables where fans can learn about local climate organizations and basically just talk about climate and sustainability,” said Maggie Baird, who oversees Eilish’s climate and sustainability efforts. (She is also the rock star’s mother.) “I think it’s really important for artists to use their platforms. They have a unique gift and they also have a unique responsibility.”

“Most of our partner tours offer fan activities and things they can do on site,” says Lara Seaver, tour and project manager at Reverb, which works with touring artists like Eilish and AJR to implement their environmental efforts.

Seaver said what sets AJR’s engagement work apart, to some extent, is its consistency and depth. “There’s something very local, meaningful and impactful happening in every single market,” she said.

Assessment of impacts

According to Planet Reimagined, during the AJR tour, about 12,000 viewers participated in climate-related civic action, such as signing petitions, sending letters, leaving voicemails, registering to vote, making donations and volunteering. Another 10,500 scanned QR codes and signed up for emails to learn more about an issue.

AJR’s Met said he was confident they would respond: Ticket buyers for concerts and festivals featuring artists such as Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Dave Matthews Band and many others were surveyed as part of the recent study “Planet Reimagined Amplify: How To Build A Fan Based Climate Movement” conducted in partnership with Live Nation. The majority of respondents said they would not only be open to learning about climate change, but also willing to take climate-related action at these events.

Met said the results also showed what artists should do to make an impact at each stop on a tour, such as being relevant to the local community. “If it affects them and their community personally, they are much more likely to take action,” Met said.

Met said research also shows that artists need to model these actions themselves. “Fans have this deep connection with artists,” Met said. “So it has a much bigger impact on fans when the artist says, ‘Do you want to do this with me?’ than when they say, ‘Do you want to do that?'”

Putting research into practice

Chloe Veltman/NPR

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NPR

In Denver, fans could use their phones to scan a QR code displayed on the screen to support a local campaign that aims to put an initiative on the Colorado state ballot in 2026 to phase out new fracking permits by 2030. The process is a controversial issue in Colorado because it is used to extract oil and gas, producing wastewater and toxic pollutants, as well as methane, which is a major source of climate-damaging pollution. But it’s big business.

Meanwhile, outside the venue, representatives from 350 Colorado, the local climate change nonprofit leading the campaign, chatted with fans.

Chelsea Alexander of 350 Colorado explained to AJR fan Robin Roston that the QR code “takes you to a form that takes about 20 seconds to fill out.”

Chloe Veltman/NPR

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NPR

“I think it’s a good opportunity to be on the ground and talk to real people who are here to enjoy music and combine that with environmental advocacy,” Roston said.

Small steps, big potential

According to 350 Colorado, 179 people actively opposed the fracking phase-out campaign during AJR’s two appearances. At least 125,000 signatures are needed to put the initiative on the ballot in 2026.

But Bobbie Mooney, Rep. 350 Colorado, said every contribution helps.

“We often think in terms of a ladder of engagement, where we can ask someone to take a small action and make them feel like they’re part of the solution,” Mooney said. “And then we can ask them to take another, maybe bigger, action. They can join a committee or advocate for a particular bill in our parliament.”

Large live events such as concerts and sporting events generate collective energy and therefore provide a particularly effective setting for bringing people up this ladder.

“The fact that everyone around us is doing something dramatically increases the likelihood that we will do it ourselves,” says Cindy McPherson Frantz, professor of psychology and environmental studies at Oberlin College.

Frantz, however, said it’s not easy for fans to maintain their enthusiasm for such things after they come down from the high of the big event.

“You could be all excited about calling your senator or voting at a rock concert,” she said. “And then you go home, a week or a month goes by and you’ve forgotten everything and you’re busy and stuff. And then it all just completely evaporates.”

However, Frantz said that just getting fans to talk about climate change at a concert was an achievement in itself. “The power of bringing people together and making them feel, ‘I’m not alone, I’m not the only person who’s afraid of this, I’m not the only person working on this problem,’ is a great antidote to the hopelessness and helplessness that comes from isolation.”

Copyright: NPR