Cheap Trick, Dave Mason, Kicking Daisies and Explorers Club to Perform at Earth Day Rally on the National Mall
Artists Will Join Civic Leaders, Government Officials, Celebrities and Tens of Thousands of Participants at Earth Day Event in Washington, D.C., to Mobilize the Earth
WASHINGTON – Earth Day Network today announced plans for the Mobilize the Earth™rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Earth Day, including appearances by Cheap Trick, Dave Mason, Kicking Daisies and The Explorers Club. The April 22 event to galvanize the environmental movement will run from noon to 7:00 p.m.
Legendary rock group Cheap Trick – known for four decades of almost continuous touring, famous for such songs as “I Want You to Want Me” and “Surrender,” and joining Aerosmith’s “Global Warming Tour” this summer – will headline the event. They join a list of distinguished and diverse talent. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason was a founding member of Traffic; since the 1960s, Mason has written such classic songs as “Feelin’ Alright” and “Only You Know and I Know” and performed and recorded with everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Michael Jackson. Kicking Daisies was recently named Radio Disney’s Next Big Thing. Reverb Nation winners The Explorers Club – known for songs featured on TV shows such as The O.C., How I Met Your Mother , and Bored to Death – will also perform.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to descend on the National Mall for the event, joined by civic leaders, government officials and celebrities. Speakers will include EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Atlanta Falcons fullback Ovie Mughelli, Race Car driver Leilani Münter, members of Congress including Reps. John Dingell and Edward Markey, representatives from U.S. government agencies, and the heads of major national and international NGOs. Denis Hayes, organizer of the first Earth Day in 1970, will also speak. More performers and speakers will be announced in the coming days.
The entire rally will be streamed live on the web at www.earthday.org.
The event on the National Mall will include an “EcoVillage” with dozens of interactive exhibits, including renewable energy demonstrations, educational workshops and voter registration. Exhibitors include NASA, the United Nations Environment Programme, Vietnam Veterans of America, the Yasuni Initiative / Embassy of Ecuador, Kids vs. Global Warming, Tremont Electric, Solar City, and Interfaith Moral Action on Climate Change.
A youth march – slated to be the largest Earth Day youth march ever – organized by Earth Day Network partner iMatter, will begin at 11:30 a.m. at 12th Street and Madison Drive NW on the Mall and will join the main event at noon.
The rally on the National Mall, America’s premier national park, is the centerpiece of the global Earth Day and part of a vast network of Earth Day events around the world. More than one billion people in 192 countries participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. Earth Day Network, who organizes the global Earth Day, has set the theme for Earth Day 2012 as Mobilize the Earth.
“From pivotal elections being held around the world, to the UN Earth Summit in June, to the need to kickstart the global economy, 2012 is an extremely important year that will set the global agenda for a long time – but environmental issues are on squarely the backburner for world leaders,” said Kathleen Rogers, president of Earth Day Network. “That’s why we’re coming together on the Mall and standing in solidarity with millions of people at thousands of Earth Day events around the world. We’ll Mobilize the Earth to call for environmental issues to become a top priority for world leaders in this pivotal year.”
Earth Day Network plans hold the final countdown to A Billion Acts of Green® at the event. A Billion Acts of Green, the world’s largest environmental service campaign, is being called a global referendum on the environment that demonstrates the breadth of support for strong, coordinated action to address the world’s most pressing environmental issues, such a climate change. Acts of Green run the gamut from a pledge by an individual to use energy efficient light bulbs to a pledge by a company to plant a million trees. As of today, the campaign has inspired over 940 million environmental actions from individuals, businesses, governments and civic organizations.
“At the event on the Mall, those in attendance and our partners all over the world are going to pitch in for the final push to reach A Billion Acts of Green, and I’m confident that with their help we’re going to blow that goal out of the water,” said Rogers. “Once we reach a billion, we’re going to take them all to the UN Earth Summit in Rio this year and make sure that world leaders hear our voices. It’s hard to ignore a billion actions.”
Earth Day on the National Mall is presented by Earth Day Network with the support of sponsors Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC, and Best Western International.
For more information about Earth Day on the National Mall, go to www.earthday.org/mall. For more information on Earth Day 2012 and Mobilize the Earth, go to www.earthday.org/2012.
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Earth Day Network mobilizes over one billion people in 192 countries through year-round advocacy, education, public policy and consumer campaigns to protect the environment. www.earthday.org
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