Going Green: Daniel Erdmann’s Eco-Jazz Adventure
Musical maverick Daniel Erdmann, known for his “open-minded jazz”, usually struts his stuff between Reims, France, and Berlin, Germany. On Wednesday 22 May, he and his French-German sextet will take centre stage at The Glasshouse for the show Thérapie de Couple.
Here’s the twist: the gig isn’t just about music; it’s part of the Green Pilot Tours – an initiative by the Europe Jazz Network (EJN). These artists travel by trains, foot, and maybe even magic carpets (okay, not the last one). We caught up with Daniel just before he heads to the station, ahead of stops in Amsterdam, Nijmegen, Manchester, and good old Gateshead.
“We need to keep our travels green. I’m trying my best, but it’s not always easy,” says Erdmann.
The Green Pilot Tours are an opportunity for artists to embrace the challenge that touring artists face every time they plan shows.
“As musicians, if we always wanted to travel green, we’d have to turn down a lot of work because the geographical challenge is sometimes too big. On this tour, we can do it because we plan to travel by train, and we’re really happy about that.”
The bands on this tour aren’t the first to discover that being Green isn’t always easy. For instance, travelling from Nijmegen in the Netherlands to Manchester in the UK by train means three changes. “We’ve planned enough time for the stopover, but there is risk. If we miss a connection, we’ll be late for the soundcheck and, potentially, the concert. Also, a long train ride before a concert is challenging physically and mentally, so to use the train for lengthy tours, we would need days off to rest, meaning extra hotel and food costs.”
Searching for the best options for sustainable travel requires a bit of teamwork. “Finding the best train connections can be difficult and take time and research to arrange. My advice is to work together with your team and bandmates if you have them to find the best solutions.”
While travel is a huge part of the impact that touring can have, Daniel’s also looking at some simpler steps, minimising waste.
“One of the ways to help is by not buying any plastic bottles or cups and bringing my bottle for cold and hot water.”
By heading on this adventure, Daniel’s hoping to set an example.
“I’m not sure I’ll have lessons to give, but I’ll talk about green travel and my EJN journey. Hopefully, this will inspire the audience to take local and public transport instead of cars.”
Looking ahead, he sees a more sustainable future for touring and the music industry. “It would be good to slow things down. One good thing would be to have days where you don’t travel if there are long distances. Another would be for several organisers in the same geographical region to book the same band to make travelling by train possible.”
With a continent to criss-cross this year, make sure you catch Daniel at the end of this particular journey in Gateshead. There’ll be great music and a unique perspective of life on the road. You can even use our free Metro offer to reach us. It’s what Daniel would do.
The Green Pilot Tours is a project by Europe Jazz Network (EJN), co-funded by the European Union under the Creative Europe programme 2022-2024.