December 21 and it’s not long now until we reach the end of our Essential Advent Calendar. Today The Lumineers draw the spotlight on the rainforest charity, Cool Earth, by donating all the proceeds from their Christmas single, ‘Blue Christmas’.
Americana band The Lumineers draw the spotlight on Cool Earth this Christmas. The rainforest charity, founded in 2007 by Frank Field, works with 118 villages in Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Papua New Guinea. They have more rainforest under the 27/4 protection of local people than any other government or non-government organisation. With Dame Vivienne Westwood as their patron, Cool Earth has harnessed the knowledge and ideas of indigenous people to save nearly a million acres of rainforest.
The Lumineers are donating all proceeds from their rework of the classic Christmas track, ‘Blue Christmas’, made famous by the likes of Elvis Presley, Tammy Wynette, and even Willie Nelson, as noted by founder of The Lumineers, Wesley Schulz:
“I grew up listening to Willie Nelson’s Xmas album Pretty Paper and this was always my favourite song on it. Of any Christmas song out there, this one stands out to me as a truly good song, Christmas or not. All proceeds from our cover will be donated to Cool Earth, an organisation that works alongside indigenous villages to halt rainforest destruction.”
Matthew Owen, director of Cool Earth responded:
“We were humbled and thrilled that such a fantastic band is supporting our work. The generosity of The Lumineers and their fans means that we’ll be able to protect more trees than ever before in 2017.”
‘Blue Christmas’ is available on all major platforms, via Decca Records. It’s a distinctive take on the festive classic, and the announcement of the track release follows the band singing the song at the 94th annual National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony, at Presidents’ Park (the White House). The Lumineers were honoured to perform with the likes of Garth Brooks, and Chance The Rapper. The band was also personally invited by President Obama to perform at the White House in the summer, for this year’s South By South Lawn festival.
The Lumineers are songwriters Wesley Schulz (vocals and guitar), and Jeremiah Fraites on drums and piano. Cellist and backing vocalist Neyla Pekarek joined the group in 2010. Writing modern melody and lyric driven songs, drawing from a variety of roots and modern music influences the band have enjoyed huge success, first with their Grammy nominated self titled platinum selling debut, which saw them have runaway hits including ‘Ho Hey’, and ‘Stubborn Love’. Their second album, ‘Cleopatra’, topped the UK album charts in April. The band are renowned for their impressive live shows, and recently completed their second sold-out UK headline tour of the year, which was met with great acclaim. The band will resume their ‘Cleopatra’ world tour in 2017, which includes two sold out nights at the legendary Madison Square Garden, New York City, in February. Further details can be found on their website.
In addition to their world tour, The Lumineers have also recently announced a show at London’s Hyde Park on Sunday July 9 2017, as special guests at the British Summer Time Hyde Park Festival, which features Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Stevie Nicks. Details about BST can be found on their website.
‘Blue Christmas’ is available from iTunes and Spotify. Find out more about Cool Earth here. Find The Lumineers online on their official website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
