Live Nation Reports 90% Waste Reduction On Select Dave Matthews Band Summer Tour Stops

One of sustainable touring’s pioneering acts, the Dave Matthews Band, is reporting several successes in that realm following its latest tour.

The band’s summer tour, which wrapped in early September at The Gorge Amphitheatre in Quincy, Wash., unrolled the group’s “On the Road To Zero Waste” initiative, done in partnership with Live Nation. According to a press release, 18 of the 32 shows on the tour were performed at Live Nation venues, with a representative for Live Nation reporting that at the company’s properties, over 90% of waste from fans was reused, composted, recycled or donated. A select number of those venues reached waste reduction of 99%.

That breaks down to 100,000 pounds of waste diverted from landfills; Live Nation says that amount would fill 25 yellow school buses. Separate from that, Live Nation and the band claim that roughly 150,000 plastic water bottles were saved from use, while 1,500 aluminum cans recycled by fans at Live Nation venues on the tour were used to create multiple aluminum guitars gifted to Dave Matthews for charity.

Additionally, approximately 3,200 meals were donated to local community organizations on tour stops.

These numbers mark a win for the Dave Matthews Band and Live Nation, as both outlined a goal of diverting at least 90% of fan-generated waste from landfills when the tour was announced this past January.

The project by the band and Live Nation is one of many current sustainability efforts in the touring realm. In September, the ever-eco-conscious Billie Eilish announced she was collaborting with Google Maps to direct fans to sustainable food and transportation options on her current Hit Me Hard and Soft tour. Meanwhile, shows and festivals across the country are increasingly turning to batteries to more sustainably power stages and more at events.