Massive Attack on why they turned down the chance to play Coachella 2025
Massive Attack have opened up about why they passed on the offer to play at Coachella 2025.
Frontman Robert Del Naja, along with long-term collaborator Mark Donne, spoke to NME in a new interview, and shed light on their ongoing efforts to tackle the climate crisis.
This included reflecting on the recent Act 1.5 “climate action accelerator” event in in Liverpool that they headlined – chosen as Liverpool was anointed by the UN as the world’s first ‘Accelerator City for Climate Action’. Joined by IDLES and Nile Rodgers, the gig looked to pioneer a greener way of holding live shows, and used clean renewable energy.
It also followed another ‘Act 1.5’ show at Bristol Downs, which celebrated 25 years of climate activism for the band and saw them joined by Killer Mike, Lankum, Sam Morton and the Wild Bunch’s DJ Milo.
Now, in the new NME interview, Del Naja and Donne spoke about how they continue to keep the climate crisis in mind when making decisions about live shows, and even turned down some opportunities because of it.
“We said no to Coachella for next year because again, we’ve been there once, and once was enough,” the frontman said.
“It’s in Palm Springs. It’s a golf resort built on a desert, run on a sprinkler system, using public water supplies. Mental. If you want to see something that’s the most ludicrous bit of human behaviour – it’s right there.”
He continued, explaining why Massive Attack also wouldn’t consider a Las Vegas residency. “It’s a head-scratcher, the artists in Vegas residency thing, because that’s an aviation destination,” he said. “You can’t get to Vegas [without flying]. So if you’re doing a couple years in Vegas, you are the catalyst for all those scope 3 emissions [indirect emissions created by a company or activity] by playing.
“You can’t say it’s nothing to do with me, you’re in fucking Vegas, right? I scratch my head with that stuff.”
Later in the interview, the singer told NME about Massive Attack’s plans for the future, which includes both new music and a continued eco-friendly approach to playing live shows.
“We do have some new music which we’ve been sitting on for four years… Hopefully we’re going to be able to release it next year and do some gigs,” he said. “Obviously we’ve set a standard for ourselves now [with Act 1.5], and we’re going to stick with it. To get given that Race to Zero artist recognition. We’ll stick with it.”
Another thing they’re looking forward to is a potential collaboration with Billie Eilish amid her upcoming tour dates in Europe.
“Maggie [Baird, Billie Eilish’s mother] got hold of Mark Watson at C40 Cities and said ‘How do I Act 1.5 Billie’s European dates?’, Donne recalled.
“I think where we’re going to get the breakthrough with Billie’s European tour [July 2025] is on rail – we’re working out a deal at the moment with Trainline,” he continued. “Where all across Europe we say, ‘How about a nice hum-dinging discount?’. Billie can say: ‘If you’ve got a ticket to my gig you get this discount code and you travel by rail.’”
In other Massive Attack news, back in October the band cancelled their US tour – their first in five years – at the last minute due to what they describe as “unforeseen circumstances”.
Before then, NME attended the aforementioned Bristol event back in August, which aimed to re-envision how concerts can be staged sustainably.
“There is some truth in the idea that an iconic, veteran campaigning act like Massive Attack can make things (like bonus trains!) happen that other events might not so easily be able to pull off. And it’s true that a switched-on Bristol audience, fresh from electing a Green MP (who is also on-site and speaking on a panel), are likely to be receptive to a concept like this,” the review read.
“But there have to be some first-movers who push the boundaries and bring everyone else along with them. Massive Attack and their event partners are the first ones to bring all of the pieces of the low-carbon puzzle together. This is what the live music of the future will need to look like everywhere in the end.”
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Liberty Dunworth
NME
