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Green Apple Music & Arts Festival Unites Musicians & Venues Nationwide for America's Largest Earth Day Celebration in New York, Chicago & San Francisco

Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson, The Decemberists, Bob Weir & Ratdog, Taylor Hicks, Kaiser Chiefs, Stephen Marley & Junior Gong, Laurie Berkner Among Festival's Highlights; Free Events in Central Park, Lincoln Park, Golden Gate Park and Grand Central Terminal Over Earth Day Weekend

Entering its second year, The Green Apple Music & Arts Festival is bringing the message of Earth Day to over 60 live music venues with over 200 performances in New York, Chicago and San Francisco over Earth Day weekend including free events in Central Park, Lincoln Park, Golden Gate Park and Grand Central Terminal.

From April 20th to 22nd, music venues across the country will come together to cultivate awareness of environmental issues through the unifying voice of music with performances by Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Willie Nelson, Bob Weir and his band Ratdog, The Decemberists, Kaiser Chiefs, The Laurie Berkner Band, The Walkmen, Taylor Hicks, Stephen Marley & Junior Gong, Brand New, Jon Anderson of YES, RJD2, English Beat, Andrew Bird, and many more.

"It always seems a little silly to have a day dedicated to something because conservation is something worth thinking about all year," noted Nate Query of The Decemberists. "That said, The Green Apple Music & Arts Festival will be an opportunity for people to learn about new ways they can soften their impact on our environment, which will hopefully have a lasting effect."

"This is a great opportunity for us to give back to our fans by putting on a free show and give back to the earth by further raising awareness of the dire need for us ALL to be environmentalists," said Laurie Berkner. "I'm really looking forward to being a part of The Green Apple Music & Arts Festival and hopefully inspiring renewed dedication to protecting our planet and ourselves."

Free events (all to take place on Earth Day, April 22nd) include:

--  San Francisco's Golden Gate Park will come alive with performances by
    legendary Grateful Dead vocalist Bob Weir and his band Ratdog, Stephen
    Marley featuring Junior Gong, The Greyboy AllStars, top singer/songwriter
    Martin Sexton and rising talent Jonah Smith.

--  Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo will present performances by The Blisters,
    Ella Jenkins, dubbed "the first lady of children's music," acclaimed dub
    producer Mad Professor, the talented kids from Paul Green's School of Rock,
    Todd Park Mohr of Big Head Todd, electronica favorites the Disco Biscuits,
    and home-town headliners Umphrey's McGee.

--  New York's Central Park will feature today's most popular children's
    act, The Laurie Berkner Band with Susie Lampert and Adam Bernstein, plus
    special guest Brady Rymer and The Little Band That Could, followed by an
    afternoon dance party with the popular DJs from Baby Loves Disco.
    

The Green Apple Music & Arts Festival will also bring top musical talent to Earth Fair outside Grand Central Terminal. Presented in partnership with the non-profit organization Earth Day New York, Earth Fair features, on Friday, April 20th, Jon Anderson (of YES) backed by Paul Green's School of Rock, Ozomatli, Gandalf Murphy and The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals. On Saturday, April 21st, Earth Fair will host State Radio (featuring Chad Urmston of Dispatch), Zero and Assembly of Dust.

"The core idea of the Green Apple Festival is to raise awareness of Earth Day," said Peter Shapiro, Founder and Executive Producer of the Festival. "By featuring a diverse group of musicians and uniting these venues under one cause, we are able to coordinate a powerful, and somewhat unprecedented event."

About The Green Apple Music & Arts Festival:

Produced by Peter Shapiro and Relix magazine in partnership with Earth Day Network and presented by JPMorgan Chase, The Green Apple Music & Arts Festival will put the Earth Day message into practice by "greening" all of the participating venues. Green Apple will provide venues in each city with environmentally friendly cups and straws, napkins and paper towels made of recycled materials, compostable garbage bags and biodegradable cleaning materials to ensure the event has a direct impact on how the venues operate.

Furthering their zero waste goal, the entire Festival will be carbon-neutral, meaning it will offset any carbon dioxide emission produced as a result of the festival, making this the nation's largest carbon-neutral event ever. Additionally, each venue will have an informational table featuring educational and volunteer information relating to prominent environmental issues and organizations.

For a complete schedule of performances and venues, go to: