Tanner Watt, Director of Partnerships at Reverb, breaks down the Music Decarbonization Project — the campaign that took Luck Reunion from diesel generators to full battery power in three years, and the model Reverb now uses to green tours across the industry.

We get into how Reverb builds sustainability into a show without ever asking an artist to say a word from stage: backstage food donation and hotel toiletry recycling programs, front-of-house causes matched to each artist (Tyler Childers and Appalachian addiction recovery, Billie Eilish and plant-based meal pledges through Support + Feed), and why keeping it positive and solutions-focused — not preachy — is what actually moves fans to act.

Perfect for touring professionals, festival organizers, sustainability coordinators, artist managers, and anyone curious how the live music industry is quietly cutting its carbon footprint one show at a time.

⚡ WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

— Why Luck Reunion became Reverb's model for how the campaign is supposed to work

— How that model scales into a "replicable blueprint" for events of any size

— Why visible signage and fan education matter as much as the tech itself

— The backstage programs most fans never see — food donation, hotel toiletry recycling

— How Reverb tailors front-of-house causes to each artist (Tyler Childers/Appalachia, Billie Eilish/plant-based pledges)

— Why keeping the message positive and nonpartisan is the strategy, not an accident

This is an abridged excerpt of a previously released episode. Listen/watch the full episode!

🎥 YouTube - https://youtu.be/7ddN4R-pu1w

🎧 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s2-e26-vibing-with-tanner-watt-director-of/id1753867919?i=1000714332881

🟢 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4UJLON6wsYlwq2M07QzGLA?si=iolon-diQfKf1K7YwSKAgQ

🔗 Learn more: reverb.org

🎙️ Connect with your hosts:

💼 Zena Harris on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/zenaharris

💼 Mark Rabin on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rabinmark

👉 SUBSCRIBE for more sustainability and clean energy content from inside the entertainment industry.

#Reverb #MusicDecarbonization #SustainableTouring #CleanEnergy #BatteryPower #LuckReunion #WillieNelson #FestivalSustainability #LiveMusic #GreenTouring #TheTieIn #DieselFree #MusicIndustry #SustainableEntertainment #ClimateAction #TylerChilders #BillieEilish #ConcertSustainability #FanEngagement

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:34 Music Decarbonization Project & the Luck Reunion origin story

01:55 Scaling clean power year over year

02:47 Signage, community support & festival banquets

03:36 Live music's carbon slice — and its outsized reach

03:57 The emotional power of live music

04:52 Shifting culture at festivals

05:19 "It's a replicable blueprint"

05:40 Industry momentum — clean power showing up on other tours

06:28 Why visibility matters even when it's seamless

07:15 Backstage: food donation & hotel toiletry recycling

08:02 Front of house: letting the artist choose the cause

08:23 Tyler Childers & Appalachian recovery

08:43 Billie Eilish & Support + Feed's plant-based pledge

09:45 Keeping it positive, not preachy

10:35 Solutions over blame

10:53 Why it has to stay nonpolitical