June 22nd, 2009 | by Bob Ferguson
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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March 27th, 2009 | by Bob Ferguson
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:
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