We’re very excited to have joined Neil Young’s new tour as part of the extensive ‘Global Village’ of activists.

Having started in Ireland this week, the tour moves to the UK mainland this weekend with a show at Leeds (First Direct Arena) tomorrow (10 June) and London’s O2 Arena (11 June), before continuing across France and Europe.

Neil’s new album, The Monsanto Years, showcases the Canadian singer-songwriter’s longstanding concerns for environmental issues, including the dangers of GMOs (genetically-modified organisms) and corporate power.

It features songs exploring such topics as global hunger, pesticides and ecology – as well as highlighting issues ranging from climate change and renewable energy to social justice, endangered species and ocean conservation. This new tour, which is supported by Californian rock band, Promise of the Real, will also promote Neil’s new live album, Earth.

In the Global Village, we are joining many other respected local and international green campaigners and organisations on the tour – such as Beyond GM, Friends of the Earth and Sustain – who have also been invited to share their materials and messages at Neil’s gigs.

One of the few musical artists to have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of fame twice, Neil Young has been blazing a light on political and environmental issues through his music for decades. His song ‘Ohio’ – written during his days with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – was a condemnation of the shooting of four students at Kent State University in 1970 during anti-war protests.

More recently Neil has protested against the tar sands projects in Canada, made a stand for the rights of Indigenous peoples, and initiated a boycott of Starbucks until they stop supporting Monsanto’s bid to block GMO labelling in the United States. Neil Young explains the Monsanto dilemma that fuelled his album and the tour: “The Monsanto Years are here and we are living them. Monsanto is the poster-child for what is wrong with corporate-controlled government of our world. The Monsanto Years encompasses several associated subjects that millions of people worldwide are concerned about and active in.

“Earth is not ours. We are of the Earth. That’s how I feel. When we plunder our own home we hurt our children and their children after them. I feel responsible.”

Neil Young has also recently launched a resource website, GoEarth.org, to support people wanting to live a greener life and based around the activities of the Global Village. “We’re delighted that Resurgence & Ecologist is joining Neil Young’s UK tour and his quest to create more environmentally conscious world,” says Charris Ford, Neil Young’s Environmental Campaign Manager.

“Like Neil, both Resurgence and the Ecologist have been at the forefront of the green and social justice movements for decades – and since the two platforms merged in 2012 – they have provided a strong united voice in the call for a more just and resilient future.”

The Global Village comprises of six themed tents focussing on six different activist topics: GMOs, Earth Ecology, Energy & Climate, Freedom & Justice, Future of Farming, and News You Can Trust. Attending fans will have the opportunity to talk with organisation representatives to learn valuable information about the most pressing ecological and social issues facing our planet today.

Resurgence & Ecologist will be participating in the ‘News You Can Trust’ tent, along with a number of other fellow green publications including Permaculture, Positive News, Peace News and Earth Island Journal. We’re very grateful for this opportunity to communicate some of our shared ideals and messages for a more sustainable and fairer world to a wider audience via this tour.

This year – 50 years since Neil co-founded Buffalo Springfield in 1966 – Resurgence celebrates its own 50th birthday. So like Neil, we were among the early campaigners for the sort of environmental and social issues that have become so relevant and critical today.

Do look out for Resurgence & Ecologist If you come to any of Neil Young’s gigs – copies of the magazine are being made available in the Global Village and we’ll also have a stand and reps from the magazine on hand who will be delighted to tell you more about the magazine and the wider work of The Resurgence Trust and answer any questions.

Further information:

Resurgence & Ecologist magazine and the Ecologist website are now both published by The Resurgence Trust, an educational charity (no. 1120414) which promotes ecological sustainability, social justice and spiritual values. To order the 50th anniversary issue of Resurgence & Ecologist (May/June 2016) in print or PDF format, visit the online shop For details of how to become a member of The Resurgence Trust, and receive six magazines a year, visit the Resurgence membership page; email the membership department or telephone: 01208 841824.