Recording Academy Teams With United Nations on Climate Crisis-Focused Concert Series

The Recording Academy is using the power of music for good.

On Wednesday (April 5), the organization announced a new partnership with several United Nations Human Rights-supported global initiatives on a campaign that will engage major artists to use their talents and platform to galvanize support for UN human rights goals, including advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, gender equality, women’s empowerment, climate justice and a broad range of other human rights issues.

The first activation under the initiative is the Right Here, Right Now Mini Global Climate Concert Series, which will see popular arena acts performing in small concert venues around the world while highlighting climate issues including floods, droughts, fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, food insecurity, clean water, ocean acidity, deforestation, mental health and more. The series is set to kick off April 13 at the Boulder Theater in Colorado with The Lumineers’ Wesley Schultz alongside special guest Yola. The performance, produced by AEG Presents and supported by the University of Colorado Boulder, will be filmed by Citizen Pictures for a later broadcast.

The concert series is a partnership between the Recording Academy and the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance, a public-private partnership developed by David Clark Cause alongside UN Human Rights that seeks to address climate change as a human rights crisis.

“We are honored to be working with several United Nations-supported global music initiatives to bring together artists and create unique music events to promote social justice around the world,” said Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. in a release. “Music has no boundaries so we are excited to partner with the artist community and work with the United Nations to further their human rights goals and ultimately, better the world.”

The Right Here, Right Now initiative plans to hold additional concerts in cities on multiple continents, with discussions already underway for shows in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, London, Johannesburg, Bogotá and Dubai. Proceeds will go to United Nations Human Rights climate justice initiatives as well as MusiCares, the Recording Academy’s music charity, which is establishing The Right Here, Right Now MusiCares Fund to focus relief efforts on music communities impacted by the climate crisis.

“Music provides a platform for the biggest megaphone in the world,” added Clark Cause in a statement, adding that Boulder was chosen as the kickoff city because it “has become the ‘Davos of Climate Change,’ since the University of Colorado Boulder recently convened world leaders, top climate experts, business leaders, and human rights advocates, along with students from our Education Coalition that includes over 2,300 universities – for the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit co-hosted with United Nations Human Rights last year.”

Celebrities who have previously lent their support to the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance and United Nations Human Rights include Quincy Jones, Celine Dion, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cher, Camila Cabello, Annie Lennox, LL Cool J, Cyndi Lauper, Pitbull, Jack Black, the Lumineers, Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Bridges, Edward Norton, Bob Weir, Dead & Company, Kesha, Joss Stone and Michael Franti.

“Throughout history, music has been an important outlet for communication, cultural expression, and expression of dissent. As the Global Partner of the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance, UN Human Rights welcomes the news that the Recording Academy will be joining the alliance as the Global Partner of Right Here, Right Now Music, in order to help promote our mutual goals and objectives to help prevent the worst impacts of the climate catastrophe on persons, groups and peoples in vulnerable situations,” said Benjamin Schachter, UN Human Rights team leader for environment and climate change.

The Right Here, Right Now Mini Global Concert at Boulder Theater is being advised on best sustainability practices by Sound Future Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to accelerate climate innovation for the live event industry.