Music with a mission

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Wednesday, June 17, 2009 - 22:15

Look no further hippies, neo-hippies, progressives, indie-rock enthusiasts, jam-band junkies, tree-huggers and everyone in between: I have found your summer destination.

Rothbury Music Festival has one mission -- to inspire the creation of a social collective around sustainability and lasting change. The source of inspiration? Well, music, of course. This summer, Rothbury Music Festival will undertake its sophomore production July 2-5 featuring performances by 70 artists like Girltalk, Bob Dylan, Matisyahu, Ani DiFranco and Umphrey's McGee on eight outdoor stages throughout the Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, Michigan. Click here to check out the 2009 lineup and artist descriptions.

Like veteran music festival Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee, Rothbury Music Festival offers four-day weekend passes for onsite camping and parking. Rothbury also provides the opportunity to purchase two-day passes for Saturday to Sunday only, as well as Good Life packages for those interested in exclusive VIP treatment like private Main Stage viewing areas and a greater variety of sleep options.

Located just north of Muskegon in Western Michigan, Rothbury is about a three hour drive from both Detroit and Chicago and is easily accessible from St. Louis and Indianapolis. But why drive knowing that transportation is the festival's leading contributor of pointless pollution? For your convenience, Rothbury Music Festival has generously recommended an array of public transportation options and travel discounts. Need to drive? Offset your carbon footprint and meet some interesting people by carpooling. Set up a drive date here.

Rothbury Music Festival has teamed up the Spitfire Agency, the modern maven of green event planning, to provide the following green initiatives:

—All paper is from 100 percent recycled content, including porta-potty toilet paper!

—Work Exchange Program: offsetting the cost of a ticket by volunteering with the Green Team for three 5-7 hour shifts

—Selling organic and sustainable merchandise

—Featuring hundreds of manned Waste Reclamation Stations on site, opting to purchase compostables instead of disposables

—A clearly labeled recycling can next to every trash can on festival grounds

—Sustainable Schools Program gives ticket holders the opportunity to help donate wind turbines to two local schools

—Organic, veggie and vegan food vendors present throughout the weekend

—Operating using green energy sources such as biodiesel fuel, solar power, wind power and human power

—When possible, “buys local, supports local, and hires local”

For more details, check out the full Rothbury Commitment.

So if you think it can't get any cooler than living sustainably while enjoying performances by artists like Willie Nelson and Guster on stages with names like the Odeum and Sherwood Court, think again. This year, the Festival will hold its second annual Think Tank. A Rothbury original, the Think Tank is an opportunity for interactive dialogue between scientists, writers, political representatives, Rothbury artists and Rothbury concertgoers. If you're heading to Rothbury this fourth of July, you won’t want to miss these discussion sessions, progressively themed "A New Green Economy."

Although just last summer it celebrated its inaugural year, Rothbury Music Festival is rapidly setting the stage (no pun intended) for 21st century music festivals. After all, as the website says, it truly is a “party with a purpose.”

Photo: boognishchap/Flickr

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