The Roots Play for Planet
The Roots, Third Eye Blind, Michelle Shocked, the Coup, and Dead drummer Mickey Hart will perform at the second annual We the Planet Music and Activism Festival. The brainchild of environmental activist Julia Butterfly Hill, the concert is slated for November 13th at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland. In addition to performances, a series of workshops on topics ranging from civil disobedience to independent media will be included in the day’s activities.
Last year’s festival in Golden Gate Park featured Bonnie Raitt, Alanis Morissette, Cake and De La Soul, and created a template for environmentally conscious, large-scale events: We the Planet inspired both the Warped Tour and Lollapalooza to run on biodiesel fuel.
For Shocked — also a member of the honorary advisory panel that includes Perry Farrell, Morissette, Joan Baez and actors Gillian Anderson and Woody Harrelson — the goal of the event is simply to be “a realization of the vision of Julia Butterfly.” Hill is best known for living in the branches of an ancient redwood in Stafford, California, for two years to protest a lumber company’s plans to cut down trees in the area. We the Planet is organized by Hill’s non-profit Circle of Life, which aims to inspire environmental consciousness.
Tickets go on sale October 10th, with additional performers to be announced in the coming weeks.