Music / News
Idles’ huge gigs on Queen Square build on Massive Attack’s green legacy
The team behind the IDLES Block Party, the first live music event on Queen Square in 22 years, have dreamed of putting on a gig there since that Massive Attack show in August 2003.
But since then the landscape has changed, with a focus on the climate impact of events spearheaded by Massive Attack themselves who tested their own net zero roadmap for live music on the Downs last summer, reportedly the lowest carbon concert of its kind ever staged.
Communion ONE’s Dan Ealam and Scott O’Neill, involved in Bristol’s music scene for over two decades, are keen to build on the groundbreaking musical and environmental foundations already laid in Bristol.
“The legacy of what Massive Attack are doing goes back further for us than just last year,” says Ealam. “We were inspired by them when we organised their 2019 show at Filton Airfield and it helped us develop where we look to do shows now.
“That’s a really key thing. A lot of the carbon footprint boils down to where those shows are.”
View this post on Instagram
“One of the challenges we faced with Filton was getting the people there and back in as green a way as possible,” continues O’Neill.
“We encouraged cycling, but there wasn’t much public transport provision – we hired 80 buses to get people to and from town. Where two thirds of a gig’s carbon footprint is from audience travel, that isn’t ideal.”
Queen Square is perfectly placed for a largescale music event, he says:
“The location is unparalleled in Bristol, there’s nothing else as central that can host such a major concert. We’re not advertising parking – we don’t need to. It’s eight minutes’ walk from Temple Meads, a few minutes from the bus stops; that side of it looks after itself.”
The central location also means batteries – supplied by Bristol based Greener Power Solutions – can be charged directly from the grid, eliminating the need for diesel-powered generators, and waste can go directly into the main sewer system.
“Connecting up to the grid is one of the ways we can progress what Massive Attack did,” says Ealam. “They weren’t able to use mains power on the Downs, so had to bring in electric vehicles to transport batteries on and off site to be charged up.
“We can run this event in the way the band originally intended, which feels really good in terms of continuing that legacy and driving things forward in Bristol.”
The council take their role seriously in ensuring events are as low impact as possible say O’Neill.
“For anyone hiring council park spaces, fields, central locations, there’s a very long detailed questionnaire about the green credentials of the event,” he explains. “They dig into such detail and provide lots of solutions. I’ve never seen anything from a council so detailed and forward thinking in that respect.”
Ealam agrees the council’s focus on sustainability is unprecedented:
“That level of interest is unparalleled with anywhere else we’ve operated. I can’t think of another city that has that sort of interest and are that helpful as well.
“It costs us more to do it this way, but the more people who jump on board to fight the good fight, the more these prices will come down. I imagine we’re five years away from this being adopted on the vast majority of events.”
View this post on Instagram
Idles Block Party will feature exclusively Bristol-based food traders, breweries and distilleries, all using compostable serveware with no single use plastic allowed on site.
They are diverging from Massive Attack’s 100 per cent plant-based restriction on traders as “there were a lot of ideas the band put forward about the food they enjoy in Bristol – we want to celebrate the food scene they love,” but all food waste will be distributed locally.
The pair think it unfair, also, to place stipulations around transport and energy on support acts.
“That’s a difficult part,” says Ealam. “How can international artists tour sustainably, especially those who aren’t stadium artists? It’s really exciting what Coldplay and other acts like that are doing but obviously there are a lot of artists on a much smaller level who aren’t making ends meet out and this stuff is expensive. It’s something that, as an industry, needs a lot of thought going forward.”
Environmental sustainability is a priority for IDLES, who have signed up to Music Declares Emergency and took part in a green gig series in Liverpool as part of Massive Attack’s Act 1.5 project.
“We know this is really important to them,” says Ealam. “And obviously they couldn’t do a hometown show in Bristol and not lean into the green side of things.
“Their influence goes far and wide, including other artists, so hopefully there’s a real legacy off the back of this.”
Communion ONE have a five year licence for Queen Square music events, and will be looking to improve sustainability year-on-year. But they believe this show is destined to be a singular one:
“It’s IDLES playing in Bristol, that’s epic in itself,” says Ealam. “28,000 people getting to enjoy the band coming home. It doesn’t really get much more special than that.
“The lineup’s amazing, and the site is absolutely beautiful. It will be stunning all round, I’m sure.”
IDLES Block Party takes place on Queen Square across August 1-2. Tickets are available at idlesband.com
Main image: IDLES
Read next:
- Geoff Barrow releases single for War Child
- Massive Attack: ‘Kneecap are not the story, Gaza is the story, genocide is the story’
- Review: Massive Attack, the Downs – ‘A pivotal climate forward event’
- IDLES announce special guests for the Block Party Weekend
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
