George Ezra has been made YouTube Music’s Sustainability Partner for 2022, and is having 17,000 trees planted by The National Trust.
The ‘Budapest’ hitmaker announced alongside the release of his latest single, ‘Green Green Grass’, and his upcoming tour, that he selected the cause due to the impact touring has on the planet.
YouTube and George made a “significant financial contribution” to The National Trust to help with the charity’s net-zero ambitions.
The 28-year-old singer-songwriter said: “I am conscious that creating, touring and promoting a record has an impact on the environment, so I am delighted to announce I will be working with YouTube Music as their Sustainability Partner for 2022. They have very generously provided a significant financial contribution to support a cause of my choosing; this is going to be The National Trust, who are working hard to reverse the decline in nature and reduce the impact of climate change by planting trees and restoring landscapes. Together, we’ll directly use this money to plant 17,000 trees across the UK.”
The National Trust has committed to planting or establishing 20 million trees covering an area the size of Birmingham as part of its plan to become net-zero by 2030.
National Trust Director General Hilary McGrady said: “We are enormously grateful to George for this donation, and it serves as an important reminder that only by a collective will and everyone playing their part will we help reverse some of the impacts of climate change and help the nation to reach net zero.
“This gift represents an important step as part of our ambition to try and tackle the effects of climate change. We are planting the trees in the right places to maximise the impact they will have in locking in carbon.”
George’s latest single from his upcoming album, ‘Gold Rush Kid’, is inspired by his visit to St Lucia and a celebration of life he witnessed on the streets of the Caribbean island.
He said: “I was on holiday in St Lucia with a few friends at Christmas 2018, with two of my closest mates from home.
“We were in this beach bar, drinking homemade rum punch and Piton, the local lager, flip-flopping between the two, p****** about with three local guys who worked there. And this music started up, three streets back from the sea.
“After about half an hour, I had to go see what it was. And there was a street party going on, with three different sound systems, people cooking in the street. I asked a woman what was going on and she told me it was a funeral – for three people. They were celebrating three lives! I thought: that is not how we do this at home. And it’s really beautiful.”
‘Green Green Grass’ follows the infectious lead single, ‘Anyone For You (Tiger Lily)’.
Following the release of ‘Gold Rush Kid’ on June 10, George is set to play a special outdoor event at Finsbury Park in London on July 17, where he’ll be supported by the likes of Blossoms, Mimi Webb, Holly Humberstone and The Big Moon.
His arena run is then due to begin in Liverpool on September 13, and wraps in Sheffield on October 2.
Fans who pre-order ‘Gold Rush Kid’ before 3pm on Tuesday 26 April can access tickets via exclusive pre-sale, before they go on general sale at 10am, Friday 29 April via Ticketmaster.
George Ezra’s 2022 UK and Ireland tour dates:
Sunday 17 July – Finsbury Park, London
Tuesday 13 September – M S Bank Arena, Liverpool
Wednesday 14 September – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
Friday 16 September – The AO Arena, Manchester
Tuesday 20 September – Utilita Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne
Thursday 22 September – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
Sunday 25 September – P J Live, Aberdeen
Monday 26 September – The Ovo Hydro, Glasgow
Wednesday 28 September – SSE Arena, Belfast
Thursday 29 September – 3Arena, Dublin
Saturday 1 October – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
Sunday 2 October – Utilita Arena, Sheffield