Nat Geo Music Celebrates Earth Day With Ben Harper And Relentless7 In Live Broadcast Concert

Free Concert on April 22 to be Held in Rome’s Piazza del Popolo and to Air Live on Nat Geo Music Channel and Online

Washington, DC - To celebrate Earth Day, Nat Geo Music channel is hosting a live broadcast concert featuring Grammy award-winning artist Ben Harper with Relentless7, in Rome’s famed Piazza del Popolo. The concert will air live on April 22 beginning at 8 p.m. in Italy (2 p.m. US ET), and will be featured simultaneously on Nat Geo Music channel, www.natgeomusic.net, in the United States and www.natgeotv.com/earthday internationally. All of the concert’s carbon emissions will be offset by planting 1,000 trees this fall in Rome’s Riserva della Valle dell’Aniene park. The project is run through Impatto Zero, an initiative from Italian organization LifeGate that enables individuals and organizations to offset carbon emissions through tree-planting.

Ben Harper will perform with Relentless7, featuring Jason Mozersky (guitarist), Jordan Richardson (drummer) and Jesse Ingalls (bassist). Ben Harper and Relentless7 will perform songs from their upcoming album White Lies for Dark Times, which will be released in Italy on April 24 and in the United States on May 5.

The concert will also mark the debut performance of Bibi Tanga & The Selenites, one of the first signings to Nat Geo Music’s new record label. In celebration of Earth Day, Nat Geo Music will release Bibi Tanga’s It’s The Earth That Moves - EP on April 21. The digital-only EP will mark the first ever release on the recently launched Nat Geo Music label. Also on stage will be Subsonica, an Italian-based group whose fusion of electronic and rock music helped them sell out their most recent European tour.

“Music is an excellent way to connect people to an important issue and inspire them to act. Nat Geo Music channel is pleased to partner with Ben Harper and Relentless7 to increase understanding about the environmental challenges facing our planet. All of our actions can — and do — make a difference,” said Sydney Suissa, executive vice president of content for NGCI.

The Nat Geo Music concert is just one of the many events that National Geographic Channels International will be holding around the world to help raise environmental awareness and encourage everyone that “what you do counts.” Digital exhibits featuring imagery from photographer James Balog for National Geographic Channel’s “Extreme Ice” will be held in select territories, including India and Taiwan. The images uniquely illustrate the effects of climate change on the coldest regions of our planet through special time-lapse camera technology. In Portugal, National Geographic Channel has constructed an eco-friendly house that demonstrates how to “green” your home without making a huge investment or foregoing everyday comforts.

Embracing the concept of raising awareness through music, National Geographic Channel in Latin America has launched a music contest through MySpace for viewers to submit a song that helps increase understanding about significant environmental issues. National Geographic Channels International has also recently partnered with the EMI record label and Spanish band Macaco on a special music video for Earth Day featuring acclaimed actor Javier Bardem.


Nat Geo Music
Nat Geo Music channel speaks in the rhythms of the world. Following seasoned artists whose anthems have bridged borders and emerging talents revolutionizing the music scene, Nat Geo Music gives viewers an authentic sound rich in diversity. Explore the world’s vibrant cultures through lyrics and beats. Music videos, long-form and short-form programming put songs into context, illustrating how music can impact, inspire and transform.

Nat Geo Music launched in October 2007 and is now available in Italy, Portugal and Latin America with further expansion expected globally. The channel is part of National Geographic Channels International (NGCI), along with the National Geographic Channel, National Geographic Channel HD, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo Adventure.

National Geographic Channels International
National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) invites viewers to rethink the way they see television — and the world — with smart, innovative programming. A business enterprise owned by National Geographic Television (NGT) and FOX Entertainment Group, NGCI contributes to the National Geographic Society’s commitment to exploration, conservation and education through its five channels: National Geographic Channel, National Geographic Channel HD, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Adventure and Nat Geo Music.

Globally, National Geographic Channel (including NGC U.S., which is a joint venture of NGT and Fox Cable Networks Group) is available in 305 million homes in 165 countries and 34 languages.

For more information, please visit www.natgeotv.com.