Patti Smith, Michael Stipe, and Cat Power to perform as part of new online festival

Despite the overwhelming attention given to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the fight for the natural environment must go on. Incidentally, the global onset of self-isolation has produced a handful of positives in this regard. Nevertheless, the climate crisis should remain equally salient.

This week oversaw the 50th celebration of Earth Day, an annual event dedicated to support for environmental protection. To celebrate, the non-profit organisation Pathway to Paris will continue with their yearly gathering of musicians and artists. This time, however, it will proceed via a live-streamed virtual music festival, catering to those in self-isolation.

Pathway to Paris are organising a virtual music festival in celebration of Earth Day. The line-up features the likes of Patti Smith, Michael Stipe, and Cat Power.

The line-up includes an extensive array of household names. Patti Smith, R.E.M.‘s Michael Stipe, Cat Power, Flea, Ben Harper, and many more will feature for the righteous cause.

Following the trend of live-streamed performances, the festival begins at a somewhat awkward time for an Australian audience. It kicks off via Instagram on Monday 27/04 at 6am EST.

Pathway to Paris was founded in 2014 by Patti Smith’s daughter, Jesse Paris Smith, in order to generate momentum leading into the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement. The organisation made the announcement for this year’s virtual festival via an Instagram post, reiterating the necessity of climate awareness even during these uncertain times.

“As humanity faces an unknown future, we must recognise the fact that we simply cannot go back to our behaviour from before,” organisers wrote. “Both as individuals and as a globe, we are in a time of reflection, and now, more than ever, we have the opportunity to make great change.”

Previous events featured Radiohead‘s Thom Yorke, who unveiled the first live versions of songs from their 2016 album, A Moon Shaped Pool. Radiohead are also currently included on the list of artists producing concert footage for their quarantined fans.

You can check out the full announcement from Pathway to Paris below.

 

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Happy Earth Day! We are thrilled and excited to invite you to join us for Pathway to Paris Earth Day 50: A Virtual Festival for our Planet on Sunday April 26th at 4pm EST. As humanity faces an unknown future, we must recognize the fact that we simply cannot go back to our behavior from before. Both as individuals and as a globe, we are in a time of reflection, and now, more than ever, we have the opportunity to make great change. . Climate change is a global concern, and we have seen with Covid-19 what can happen when the world truly works together to come up with solutions in a time of crisis. Let’s treat the climate situation with that same urgency and passion. Let’s not go back to the world as it was. Instead, let’s move into the future with a renewed vision of how we want to live. Let’s do this not only for our children and future generations, but for each other, here today. For our neighbors, friends, and family, for the animals and trees, for every living being and species on this Earth. . In light of this all, we invite you to join us as we use our voices and platforms to raise awareness, and realize how truly interconnected we all are, not only with each other, but with our one and only beautiful planet. See you Sunday!! . . #earthday50 #earthday #pathwaytoparis #pattismith #michaelstipe #rem #flea #tonyhawk #benharper #catpower #tenzinchoegyal #patrickwatson #gigidatome #micahnelson #rajulama #olafureliasson #giovannicaccamo #dolomiti #italy #jesseparissmith #rebeccafoon #rainphoenix Graphics by @kinshipgoods THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

A post shared by Pathway to Paris (@pathway2paris) on Apr 22, 2020 at 8:36am PDT