Oxfam America supporter Thao Nguyen (of Thao with the Get Down Stay Down) is a San Francisco-based singer-songwriter, whose new album “Know Better, Learn Faster” has just been released.

Hello out there. I am very pleased to be writing you on Blog Action Day, as it is my favorite day of the year. Last year on this day I dressed up as a blog, but because I’m more of an idea person, execution was poor and no one could really tell. This year will be clearer and different.

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down. Photo: Tarina Westlund

I am a songwriter and musician by trade, and although that is incredibly fortunate in and of itself, I feel especially lucky for such job placement because it has afforded me the unique opportunity to closely work with and support Oxfam America.

I have always loved Oxfam’s focus and application of energies and issues to real live people, and how the scope and arch of causes great and small always return to how real places with real people are being affected, and what can be done to help improve their quality of life. Climate change is a real bastard, as we all have heard. And it’s happening, let’s not deny it. If you keep turning a blind eye to climate change it will probably be injured in a surprise gale force wind. Or not. The issue of climate change has painted the town so many times with so many brushes, it is understandable that those of us with the ability and privilege to forget, would.

Enter Oxfam and others of its ilk to keep us aware and connected: The people the world over who have done the least to upset nature are always the ones who bear the brunt of its imbalance and fury.

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Photo: Lisa East / Oxfam America

Is it a popular artist’s responsibility to speak out about important issues?

That’s the question that was posed to us last Sunday at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. As part of Oxfam America’s presence at the festival, I had the pleasure of being a panelist at a discussion about the intersection of activism and music. The panel took place on the Solar Stage, an earth-friendly performance area.

The panelist to my right happened to be Will Sheff from Okkervil River, a band I admire greatly. Before the panel, Sheff and I killed a little time in the “Green Room” tent adjacent to the stage by talking about his band’s efforts to “green” their own tours and to encourage fans to ride bikes to their gigs to slash gig-related carbon footprints. Sheff mentioned that they didn’t start those initiatives because of any particular movement or campaign, but rather because they personally just felt that the by-products of touring were wasteful. (Performer Ben Sollee may be one of the few musicians to complete a full tour on a bike, when he pedaled 330 miles to Bonnaroo with his cello.)

That’s why I wasn’t surprised to hear Sheff’s response to the panel’s question. He said, in essence: “I don’t think it’s an artist’s responsibility to do the right thing; I think it’s a human’s responsibility to do the right thing.” Who could argue with that?

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Ben and the tour's filmmaker, Marty Benson, stretching it out this morning in Frankfort, KY, before setting off to tonight's show in Danville, KY. Photo: Katie Benson

Remember Ben Sollee, the cellist and Oxfam supporter who gave me a very unstable lift on the back of his bike during the South by Southwest festival? Well, he’s just embarked on his official bike ride to the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival next week, with his Oxfam America cello case and 60 pounds of equipment in tow. Regrettably, I won’t be joining him on this particular ride.

Ben’s 300-mile journey passes through his native Kentucky en route to the festival grounds in Tennessee, all with the purpose of spreading the word about Oxfam’s work.

“We’re going to be riding through the heart of these towns and people will have questions. Conversations will take seed,” Ben told the Huffington Post this week. “In the end, the music will bridge any gaps in vernacular and we’ll have a great show. It’s important for me to remember that I’m going to these places on an invitation from the community. Booking agents didn’t book this tour. Rather, the community found places to host us.”

If you live in the area, make sure to check out Ben’s live dates, or you can watch video dispatches from the ride at his blog Pedaling Against Poverty.

Not long ago I managed to record a quick–and badly lit–video interview with Chad Stokes (from the band State Radio) and Sybil Gallagher (from State Radio’s organization Calling All Crows) backstage before their sold-out show at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom.

In this three-minute clip, Chad and Sybil talk about how State Radio is supporting Oxfam America’s work distributing stoves to poor families, especially women, in Darfur, Sudan, and how you can get involved:

Why is Oxfam distributing stoves in Darfur? Designed with the input of local women, the different models of fuel-efficient stoves can increase security for women and girls in this conflict-affected region; dramatically reduce the cost of purchasing fuel for poor families; or cut the time that women spend preparing meals, giving them more opportunities to earn a decent income outside the home.

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Almost everyone who works or volunteers at Oxfam has had an “epiphany moment.” Ask us about it, and we’ll tell you what inspired us to change our lives, pick up the baton of volunteerism, or put our talents to work helping Oxfam accomplish great things here and abroad.

My story, though, is a little bit different than most. It involves Joe Strummer, the late leader of the iconic British political rock band The Clash.

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Last week I found myself in Austin, Texas, holding on for dear life to the back of a bike, being pedaled up a hill by–in his words–”a guy who makes his living playing a wooden box.”

Ben’s cello case, which he will be carrying to raise awareness of Oxfam America’s work as he tours the US. Photos: Ben Sollee / Oxfam America

But let me explain.

As Oxfam America’s music and media outreach coordinator, part of my job entails working with musical artists who are passionate about ending poverty, hunger, and injustice. So when artists who support our work come through New York City (where I’m based) on tour–or when I see them at events like the South by Southwest music conference in Austin–it’s a great chance to discuss our grassroots campaigns, and to bring them up to speed on what we’re doing in the US and around the world.

That’s why I was happy to have a chance to catch up with cellist and Oxfam supporter Ben Sollee at South by Southwest last week–and even happier when Ben offered me a lift to see Thao, another musician who supports Oxfam and even played a concert for us last year. Unfortunately, that lift meant hitching a ride on the back of Ben’s bike, right next to his specially designed Oxfam America cello case.

As you can see in this short video interview, things were a little shaky in the beginning, but we finished strong: