Meet the DJs spinning Earth Day into nightlife – Grist todayheadline

The vision

“In the nightlife industry, the majority of the crowd is very young. Our crowd is the future. So it’s great to have them all together and be able to raise some more awareness.”

— Ruben Pariente Gromark of DJs for Climate Action

The spotlight

Next Tuesday, April 22, will mark the 55th anniversary of Earth Day, a celebration launched in 1970 to bring attention and grassroots energy to environmental issues. But the days that immediately follow it, April 23 through 27, will mark the eighth annual offering of a relatively under-the-radar series of climate events: Earth Night.

Organized by a small volunteer group called DJs for Climate Action, Earth Night is a global initiative that brings climate and environmental messages into dance halls, bars, clubs, and other nightlife venues.

The idea started with a campaign by producer and DJ Sam Posner (also known as Sammy Bananas). Around 2009, he launched a holiday fundraising campaign for DJs to buy carbon credits to offset the emissions of the frequent flights they take to work at parties and events all over the world.

“He sent it to me and I was like, ‘Oh, this is really interesting,’” said Eli Goldstein (Soul Clap), a fellow music artist who’s now the president of DJs for Climate Action. “At that time I was flying a lot, and it was the first time a light bulb went off, that there was a negative side of all the flying around the world DJing.” Taking a flight is one of the most carbon-intensive activities any individual can do — and as long-distance, often international travel is a routine part of many DJs’ jobs, they can rack up some high carbon footprints.

Goldstein had long been interested in environmental issues. He even sang at Earth Day celebrations as a schoolkid. When he encountered Posner’s carbon-credits campaign, he had what he described as “an epiphany” that living his dream as a DJ wasn’t fully in line with his environmental values.

The end-of-year fundraisers continued for several years, under the banner of DJs Against Climate Change, before the group decided it wanted to do something bigger. Focusing only on the carbon footprint of traveling felt like a missed opportunity to take advantage of the unique skills the artists had to bring to the movement.

“We realized we could be a lot more constructive, positive, by encouraging DJs to use our platforms to educate and encourage action around climate and the environment,” Goldstein said. They wanted to invite DJs to do what they do best — spin tunes at parties — while fostering a space for learning, community building, and fundraising for climate solutions, and also emphasizing a vision of low-waste, regenerative local events.

A photo from the first Earth Night event at House of Yes in Brooklyn, New York. Sam Posner

The fledgling group organized the first Earth Night event in 2018 at House of Yes, a funky performance venue in Brooklyn. In addition to spinning DJ sets, the crew handed out literature at the door, projected climate information on the walls, and raised money for the local nonprofit NYC Environmental Justice Alliance. Around 500 people attended. “The idea was just to create an opportunity for nightlife, to have a joyful moment to support and educate about climate,” Goldstein said.

The event expanded from there. In 2019, the team coordinated Earth Night events in seven cities around the world, raising over $10,000 for various climate charities.

In 2020, the group had planned to hold 50 events, honoring the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. All those plans were scuttled by the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic — but like so many other organizations, DJs for Climate Action quickly pivoted to a virtual approach, which had the effect of bringing Earth Night to many more people. “We did a livestream with 100 DJs from around the world — every continent except Antarctica was represented,” Goldstein said. “Everybody just played one song, and it was like 20 hours long. It was really epic and amazing.”

As in-person partying gradually returned, the team decided to take a more decentralized approach. While a number of artists have been involved over the years, the core team behind DJs for Climate Action is just five people, and they quickly realized they couldn’t sustain all the coordination and support that would be required to scale up the global event. Instead, they created a toolkit for local organizers — DJs, venues, promoters, or really anyone interested in hosting an Earth Night event. It includes specific tips for sustainability, such as going plastic-free, booking local talent, featuring plant-based menus, and using renewable energy where possible.

A photo from the second year of Earth Night at House of Yes, in 2019. Courtesy of DJs for Climate Action

For 2025, there are close to 40 events planned around the world, which will be added to the DJs for Climate Action website and Instagram in the coming days.

“It’s definitely taking on a life of its own,” Goldstein said. DJs for Climate Action also recently acquired formal nonprofit status and will be fundraising for itself through Earth Night as well, with a goal of expanding the organization’s capacity. “We’re now trying to raise money to have a more permanent team,” Goldstein said. “So we do encourage events to donate at least partially to DJs for Climate Action — but also to local climate and environmental justice orgs. Part of the beauty of Earth Night is it’s this local organizing, but still global energy, global community, global impact.”

Mónica Medina, a biology professor at Penn State, is organizing an event this year in State College, Pennsylvania. Although she’s not a frequenter of the club scene herself, State College is a party town, she said. She saw an opportunity to reach people with a climate message through a medium that she herself has found very healing: music.

“I feel that we have split our lives into so many bubbles that don’t overlap. But I feel that knowledge, spirituality, and fun can be together — and that music especially has the power of getting people entranced in a way where they are connected with these powerful lyrics,” she said.

That sentiment was echoed by Gui Becker, a fellow professor and musician who will be performing live at the State College event. Becker was in a metal band with his cousins when he was young, and his music evolved to explore environmental and climate justice themes as he studied biology in grad school. Over the past several years, he’s written a handful of hard rock songs with climate messages, and he’s collaborated with other scientists and musicians through an initiative called Science Strings.

“Music is so powerful,” said Becker, who’s looking forward to performing live at Manny’s, a popular all-ages venue in State College. “I think maybe we’re going to be able to reach an audience that normally doesn’t listen to environmental music, environmentally charged songs.”

In addition to Becker’s performance, the State College event on April 24 will include a DJ set by the venue’s owner and the premiere of a new music video that Medina and her students produced for “La Extinción,” a song by the Colombian musician Pernett.

At this year’s Earth Night event in Paris, on April 26, the music itself will have less of an explicit climate message — but the party will include a guided meditation by sound artist Lola Villa, featuring nature sounds that she recorded in the Amazon, as well as a panel featuring the event’s DJs on how artists can get involved in activism. The attendees will also get compostable wristbands — and in the 10 seconds it takes to put a wristband on, the venue staff will briefly explain to people why they’re there.

“I do believe that makes a big difference,” said Ruben Pariente Gromark (also known as Michel D.), a core member of DJs for Climate Action and the organizer of the Paris party. “As it’s a classic club venue where there’s parties every weekend, quite a few people might just come randomly, to go to a party where they’re used to going for a party. And then they will know that it’s a different [mission-driven] party.”

The wristbands will also feature a QR code that leads to a survey asking attendees how they traveled to the Earth Night event (walking, biking, driving, or even flying from afar). It’s part of a broader impact assessment the team intends to compile this year to measure the sustainability of the events.

At the end of the day, though, Earth Night is less about reducing the plastic cups at bars or the miles traveled to concert venues, and more about creating a joyful space for people to learn and get inspired to take action for the climate.

“When we talk about the climate crisis, environmental action, all these subjects — it’s full of anxiety, it’s very dark,” said Pariente Gromark. Although its festivities may take place under cover of darkness, Earth Night offers a counter to that doom-and-gloom narrative. Organizers hope the good vibes spread at the events will empower both artists and community members to lean further into climate work where they live — and even where they party.

“Climate change is such a global, overwhelming problem that can make us feel super powerless when we look at the macro scale,” Goldstein said. “When we look at our local community and how we can participate, help build resiliency, and just come together in a joyful way, it can feel like you’re actually making a difference.”

— Claire Elise Thompson

More exposure

A parting shot

Check out this solar-powered DJ booth — a focal point of the 2019 Earth Night event in Paris.

IMAGE CREDITS

Vision: Mia Torres / Grist

Spotlight: Sam Posner; Courtesy of DJs for Climate Action

Parting shot: Courtesy of DJs for Climate Action