Rock The Bike is Excited to Take Part in the 2015 Bicycle Music Festival!
At the Bicycle Music Festival at Lake Merritt Amphitheater on Sunday September 20th, the audience will generate all the electricity needed for the sound system. Coming to Oakland for the 1st time, the festival has partnered with leading Climate Justice group 350 Bay Area and is the centerpiece of the 3rd annual Love Our Lake Day, which closes down streets around Lake Merritt for walking, biking, and community activities. The festival organizers wanted to create a Climate Concert where education on our global environmental issues can occur in a beautiful community setting that supports face-to-face interpersonal connection. Weaving art and music together with climate awareness, the event creates a space where participants can begin to take personal action within the movement.
San Francisco sprouted the very first Bicycle Music Festival in 2007, which has since inspired over a dozen small and large-scale festivals of its kind internationally. From Uruguay to Vancouver, Barcelona to Berlin, the idea of using human-powered technology to empower social change is a contagious one. And what better time than now?
Although the event’s focus lies with environmental themes, it will not be light on the music! The line-up features some of Oakland’s hottest acts. The festival begins with the Black Nature Band with members from Sierra Leone’s Refugee Allstars and goes on to feature authentic New Orleans “Second Line” marching band MJ’s Brass Boppers, 5-time national slam poetry champion Dominique Christina, and social and environmental advocates Diana Gameros, Earth Amplified, and bike touring band SHAKE YOUR PEACE! The daytime programming at the Lake has entertainment for all ages, including roving performer Toni Mikulka’s giant puppet on stilts. Refreshment options include gourmet Pedal Powered food from ice cream chef Kate Zuckerman of “The Sweet Life,” Bike-Blended Smoothies, and Jian Bing Johnny’s Crepes.
At 5pm, the entire audience will jump on their bikes and roll through the streets of Oakland while Majors Powers and the Lo-Fi Symphony entertains them from an 8-foot-wide mobile stage towed by a single strong-legged cyclist! The performance parade, called LiveOnBike, is amplified throughout the rolling crowd via wireless speakers strapped to bikes. The bike parade ends at OMNI Commons at Shattuck and 47th St. with an evening lineup of 4 more bands in the OMNI ballroom.
The organizers joyfully endeavour to carry as much of the festival’s gear as possible by bike, and we try to extend this experience to others, bringing in volunteers who are strong cyclists but have never tried carrying a load. We also offer musicians the chance to caravan with us to their performances. Even drummers with full drum sets have taken us up on this challenge! They and other musicians from past festivals have told us that they now bike regularly to their gigs because of this roadying experience. To pull it off, the roadie team research and use the best load-hauling solutions for bikes, including heavy-duty trailers and cargo bikes that come from companies including the Bay Area’s own Yuba Bicycles. Volunteers should get involved through the Bicycle Music Festival homepage.
The festival crew are excited to be using Rock The Bike’s Pedal Powered Stage before its largest audience to date. With thirty bike generators, a small line array, and repeater stations, this will be the world’s largest Pedal Powered concert. Fans up close can feel the thump of the subwoofers as they dance, and people further out who prefer a picnic-style festival experience can still enjoy the message and the music.
Rock The Bike, also the leading sponsor of the Bicycle Music Festival this year, is dedicated to developing Pedal Powered activities that help everyday people experience their capacity to make change.
Upgrades from last year?
True concert-grade sound! Rock The Bike has been tuning its Line Array (the Russian Dolls Sound System), adding subwoofers and an ‘outfield’ of 4 repeater stations (time-synced speakers positioned midway through the listening area). This improves sound clarity for fans who desire a picnic-style festival experience.
The outdoor portion of the event will feature power up to 20,000 Watts (up from 14,000 in 2013), making this once again the World’s Largest Human Powered Concert!
More generator bikes! 30 full-sized bikes, including a 15-foot art bike called El Arbol and a dozen kid-sized bikes.
Climate Speakers co-curated with 350 Bay Area and the Fertile Ground Institute. With carbon in the atmosphere passing 400 PPM, their message of Climate Justice has never been more necessary.
Gourmet pedal-powered food by ice cream chef Kate Zuckerman (“The Sweet Life”), Bike Blended Smoothies, and Jian Bing Johnny’s Crepes.
Notes for attendees:
Bring a Bike! The LiveOnBike mobile concert is not to be missed! Riders will enjoy being part of a peaceful bike parade from Lake Merritt to Shattuck and 45th St. in Temescal where the OMNI Commons will host the night portion of the festival. This year’s LiveOnBike act is Majors Powers and the Lo-Fi Symphony.
Come early! Great speakers and bands kick off the day.
The event is entirely free but community supported. You will have opportunities to give generously to the performing bands, which allows us to avoid commercial sponsorship.
There are still volunteer positions available! Email Clint for details clint.womack@gmail.com
Thanks for helping us promote Bicycle Music Festival, the World’s Largest Human Powered Music Event. We hope to see you there!
