7 Eco-Friendly Music Festivals, to Jam Out Sustainably

Obviously, not all music festivals are sustainable. In the past, many — such as Coachella — have been guilty of recycling only a margin of its waste. Many also consume quite a bit of energy, water, materials, and food resources. But there are many sustainable music festivals out there that are totally worth attending this year.

If you're looking forward to listening to some live music and hang with friends after a bleak few years in quarantine, keep reading for a few of our favorite eco-friendly music festivals.

According to Vida So Sensible, We Love Green (June 2-5) won the Outstanding Greener Festival Award in 2016, for its sustainable practices. Located in Bois de Vincennes, a park in Paris, it offers concert goers organic meals and fresh fruit, it's plastic-free, and promotes environmental awareness through various art installations.

In addition to a fantastic lineup of musicians across various genres, it also has a Think Tank in the center, which invites scientists, activists, artists, sociologists, and others who will be leading round tables, conferences, and screenings.

Otis Mountain Get Down (date TBA) is a music festival that takes place on a defunct ski mountain in New York, featuring an eclectic indie lineup featuring folk, rock, and techno artists. In addition to having multiple recycling and compost receptacles throughout the site, the festival encourages concert goers to use only reusable cups and bottles, prohibits glass, and open fires.

It also features various sustainability focus craft activities every year — from natural finger painting to silk screening.

Amsterdam's DGTL (April 17-18) is a techno music festival that takes place in an abandoned shipyard in one of the greatest cities in the world. Even though the music is incredibly high energy, the festival manages to keep sustainability at the forefront of it all. According to Redbull, DGTL is aiming to be the first circular festival, it exclusively offers drinks in reusable cups, the food is meatless, and it's energy efficient.

Luckily, dancing doesn't release any greenhouse gas emissions — because this is definitely a dance-heavy festival you won't want to miss out on.

Everyone is familiar with Colorado's Burning Man (Aug. 28- Sept. 5) an iconic music and art festival that operates on the "leaving no trace" mentality, per Eco Age, and runs on renewable energy. The festival aims to be completely carbon negative and ecologically regenerative by 2030, and the company's Burners Without Borders organize relief projects and work to help international communities.

India's Echoes of Earth (date TBA) in Karnataka is considered "India's greenest music festival." In addition to hosting 40 international and Indian musicians, it promotes Earth-friendly practices such as upholding the the leave no trace policy, and reducing, reusing, and recycling.

Most of the stages are made up of recycled materials and are also solar powered, and they host various workshops, activities and initiatives to educate festival goers on sustainability.

South Africa's Eden Festival of Action (Sept. 25 – Oct. 9) combines music and environmentalism. During the day, festival goers can participate in ecosystem restoration activities such as tree-planting, and attend and workshops with environmentalists. Nights then consist of campfire sessions and story-telling, in addition to music from local South African artists.

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