Billie Eilish is an inspiration to the music industry. Appalled by how environmentally destructive the concert business can be, the pop star decided to do things differently. Now, after the biggest tour of her career, a new report shows how she’s creating a fresh blueprint for modern touring.
More than eight years ago, when she was only 16, Billie Eilish set out on her first headlining tour. She was already on her way to becoming one of the world’s biggest pop stars, and the scale and impact of staging major shows were impossible to ignore. The idling tour buses, the generators running at all hours, the innumerable single-use plastic water bottles.
Raised by an especially eco-conscious mother, Eilish was accustomed to climate-friendly habits, like using cloth napkins and eating a vegan diet. She was startled in a new way by the ramifications of shows like hers. “I didn’t know how bad it could be,” Eilish says now. “The waste involved in live music is really hard to take in.”