#118 Peter de Koning, drummer and creator of Live Earth 2020

Planetary Gig Talk

Peter de Koning from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, is a drummer and also the creator of Live Earth 2020, which will happen on August 29-30, 2020. Peter was only 6 years old when he started tapping on everything and was 8 when he got a drum kit. His sisters were in the marching band and it inspired him, so he joined marching bands and then the drum and bugle corps and it became his passion. He says, when he is not able to play for a while, he can really feel it; he needs to play and move with music and there are moments of flow with the marching band that are so great. His new project, Live Earth 2020, came about when he was doing sustainability work in Montenegro and decided to ride a bike back home to Amsterdam with his drum kit trailing behind the bike, as he rode through Croatia, Bosnia, Italy, and Austria. “The purpose of it,” he says, “was to give some concerts at beautiful locations for the earth.” He would get his drum kit out at a place that he felt was good and play to honor the earth and things that had happened at those places. Then, he came up with the idea of Live Earth 2020; “Why not organize … a concert for earth to pay tribute to the earth?” He says that Victor Wooten talks about the intention of playing music and Peter believes that playing for Mother Earth with the intention of honoring her and showing gratitude will be very beneficial. The goal is to gather 1,000 musicians and indigenous peoples from around the plant to perform and conduct ceremonies almost at the same time. He hopes artists will find nice places in nature, or wherever feels good, to give a concert, or dance, or make some art to pay tribute to Earth with that intention. It is free to sign up and participate at the website www.liveearthconcert.org. Peter says that he feels music and dance are the closest spiritual connections we can have. He sees in the future also addressing reconciliation with the earth for all of the awful things that humans have done and to focus on the good after the pandemic. He believes it is important to pay attention to the artists and the freedom thinkers to achieve a better world.