No cash, just trash: Darcy Thomas on how climate mitigation can change the music industry

Art Ain’t Trash/UK Youth Day founder Darcy Thomas recently organised the UK’s first festival to accept plastic waste as an entry fee with backing from Westminster Council, Power Up and Mete Coban, GLA deputy mayor for energy. Here, he calls for systemic change to help address the climate crisis… On International Youth Day (August 12), I hosted the UK’s first festival to accept plastic waste as an entry fee (supported by Westminster Council, Power Up and Mete Coban: GLA deputy mayor for energy). Using on-site plastic recycling machinery at the UK Youth Day festival, we tested a ‘no cash, just trash’ model, where over 450 attendees brought plastic waste to unlock entry, which was repurposed on-site in our ‘Art Ain’t Trash’ plastic recycling workshops, with the remaining waste turned into art for our events in October. The UK music industry stands at a critical crossroads. Julie’s Bicycle revealed that UK festivals produce 20,000+ tonnes of waste annually. Meanwhile, live music and audience travel account for roughly 75% of the sector's total greenhouse gas emissions. As the climate crisis accelerates, pressure across the industry has never been higher. Yet much of the response relies on top-down initiatives that feel like passive compliance, greenwashing, or a modern form of waste colonialism. To build an industry framework that genuinely heals the people and environments it relies upon, we must enact systemic change across three core pillars. 1 Creative systems change Redefining waste as value true transition requires implementing new green technologies/localised recycling methods, and renewable power directly into live infrastructure, building on the proof-of-concept established at UK Youth Day. Global Majority-led events like City Splash and Notting Hill Carnival face high operational waste challenges and should be prioritised for circular investments. Darcy Thomas with Not3s, Sans Soucis and KVibes at a recycling centre in Lewisham In my research funded by Westminster Council, I found Notting Hill Carnival highlights that processed waste can be diverted from landfills to manufacture stage builds, costume design and creative workshops that empower communities most aﬀected by climate injustice; preventing that same waste from being sent back to our motherlands. 2 Holistic, sustainable and ethical talent development Global Majority talent drives over 80% of UK recorded music revenue. Talent development can no longer be limited to studio time and social media strategies; it must empower artists as environmental stewards. Incorporating talent into community clean-ups and our Art Ain’t Trash workshops transforms sustainability into creative flow, community connection, and improved mental and physical health. Wellbeing is essential: according to the UK Musicians’ Census, 74% of UK musicians earn under £30,000 annually from music, with 43% taking home less than £14,000, fuelling a mental health crisis that leaves nearly 30% reporting poor wellbeing and a quarter unable to support themselves. When most creators struggle to sustain a living, asking them to fund standard, high-emission marketing campaigns is unfeasible. Educating artists in circular practices is an economic lifeline. Those most aﬀected by environmental degradation must lead the solutions Darcy Thomas Simple choices – like sourcing wardrobe from charity shops or circular archives – dramatically reduce budgets while embedding sustainability directly into the visual aesthetics. Implementing resource-eﬃcient production cuts overhead for independent creators, freeing up vital capital while protecting artist longevity. I manage musician, composer and artist Che Lingo who shows me daily how creators act as direct conduits for environmental awareness. Che is the perfect fit. His music speaks directly to the young, Global Majority demographics statistically most vulnerable to climate injustice, making his platform uniquely powerful. UK Youth Day festival 2026 His work with me on the Art Ain’t Trash outreach events and workshops shows a genuine sense of environmental stewardship, empowering the artist while activating his audience as catalysts for local and global change. By hosting events like UK Youth Day or our Project R3claimed stage at The Alternative Escape 2026 (supported by Power Up), we prove labels can help artists operate sustainably while opening new revenue streams: Solar showcases & low-emission touring:Mobile live shows powered by renewable energy and low-carbon logistics to cut overheads. Waste-to-resource merchandise & releases:Turning venue waste or community clean-up plastics into merch, recycled plastic vinyl and stage infrastructure: converting a waste stream into direct artist resources/revenue. 3 Global Majority leadership & ownership Systemic change is impossible without representative leadership. Studies by Youth Music and Black Lives In Music highlight a stark disconnect: while Global Majority creators shape the UK's sound, only 22.1% of industry leadership roles are held by ethnically diverse individuals, and just 29% of young Global Majority creatives feel represented by decision-makers. Crucially, the Global Majority remains almost entirely absent from owning the companies holding key procurement contracts for climate mitigation: waste management, energy supply, and venue operations. Festivals, venues and labels must actively commit to ring-fencing procurement spend for Global Majority-owned green-tech and circular suppliers. Without Global Majority leadership, we risk letting the narrative be driven by the same systemic structures that caused the climate crisis. Those most aﬀected by environmental degradation must lead the solutions; not only for ethical, political, and cultural reasons, but to rebuild a fairer economic balance. If the music industry is built on the backs of Global Majority pioneers, these same leaders must be given the agency, contracts, and platforms to direct its sustainable future.

A Class Act: Kasabian and team get into Act III

Kasabian have just scored their eighth consecutive No.1 album. Here's a chance to revisit our interview with the band from earlier this year... Over the course of two decades and counting, Kasabian have become one of the biggest of their generation, and with new record Act III and a huge headline show at Finsbury Park fast approaching, they are aiming higher still. To get the full lowdown, Music Week meets their inimitable leader Serge Pizzorno, plus co-manager John Coyne and Columbia president Dipesh Parmar, for a conversation that takes in overcoming adversity, the enduring appeal of guitar bands and why, in 2026, music “has to be wild, otherwise, who cares?”... WORDS: LISA WRIGHTPHOTOS: NEIL BEDFORD There are many things that you might have come to associate with Kasabian over the years. There is, of course, their incendiary live show that’s seen them top many festival bills, including a Glastonbury Pyramid Stage headline slot in 2014. For another: their playful, wildcard brand of genre-straddling rock that’s earned them seven consecutive UK No.1 albums. And that’s not to mention their impressive tenacity in the face of adversity and internal, highly publicised hurdles. One thing you probably won’t have linked Kasabian – made up of frontman and songwriter Serge Pizzorno, bassist Chris Edwards, drummer Ian Matthews and guitarist Tim Carter – with, however, is Chanel. But the singer has a theory that the famous fashion house and their ninth album, Act III, might be cut from the same cloth… “This is going to sound a bit leftfield, but I love the Chanel shopping bag,” Pizzorno begins with a glint in his eye. “I think it’s the most perfect thing ever. It’s just a white bag, with black handles and the Chanel font. It’s so simple, efficient and iconic, and I like the idea that these songs get the job done in that same way. The riffs are simple at times, but they’re perfect and in the right place. I could see Act III on one of those bags in black font, very similar to Chanel.” And would founder Coco have been a fan of Kasabian? “It depends on what paper she read,” Pizzorno notes, wryly. “If she met me, she would be. But if she read the wrong paper she’d probably think that we were crazy people that she wouldn’t want anything to do with…” He is talking to Music Week from a room of his house painted floor-to-ceiling in horizontal black and white stripes, like a monochrome take on the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland (an analogy he’d probably enjoy) or a sideways Newcastle United kit (one the partisan Leicester City fan almost certainly would not). He’s in high spirits talking about the band’s upcoming release, due on July 17 via Columbia, who have been on board since their 2006 second album Empire. With 844,683 sales to date according to the Official Charts Company, that record kicked off their run of chart-toppers, followed by 2009’s West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (993,885), Velociraptor! in 2011 (682,341), 2014 effort 48:13 (524,447), 2017’s For Crying Out Loud (220,412), The Alchemist’s Euphoria in 2022 (38,613) and 2024’s Happenings (34,017). Their self-titled 2004 debut, which peaked at No.4, has 1,112,022 sales. No wonder Columbia president Dipesh Parmar is full of praise for their achievements. “Kasabian are a band that have not only defined decades of British music, but continue to evolve and push the boundaries,” he says. “There are so many standout moments across their catalogue, and they keep getting better.” “Serge has written and produced seven No.1 albums and we are looking at number eight,” chips in their long-term manager John Coyne, who has been with the band for the past 22 years, alongside co-manager and SJM MD Simon Moran, who has been involved for the last 15. “I think that achievement as a songwriter is monumental.” Act III, like its theatrical title implies, represents a new phase for the band – one, Pizzorno explains, where “all the madness levels out”. “The last six years have felt like an opera of sorts,” he says. “In the great stories, the third act is when things come together and you get this resolve. It feels a bit like that. It’s a great way to jump off from this point to somewhere completely new and different for the next record, and it puts an end to this chapter.” If this portion of their career has been an opera, then for a time in 2020 it also threatened to be a tragedy. After being charged with assault against his then-fiancée, original frontman Tom Meighan stepped down after pleading guilty that July. The band said they were “left with no choice but to ask Tom to leave”, adding there is “no way we can condone his assault conviction”. Their future seemed uncertain, but in May 2021, Kasabian announced a tour with Pizzorno – their sole songwriter since the beginning – stepping up to the mic and into centre stage. It was a move that began out of necessity and a need to “solve a problem”, and half a decade later, he describes the decision as having “changed my life in every way”. “You have to grow up in some respects and take care of yourself in that role at my vintage,” he chuckles. “If you want to do it to a big level and entertain 50 or 60,000 people, you cannot be a wreckhead. You have to take it seriously. If you want to play the Academies and have a little laugh, fine. But I don’t want to do that. I want to keep going forward.” The team at Columbia didn’t question his choice to step up. “They were unbelievable,” he recalls. “Nothing was even said about it. It was just, ‘Great, can’t wait to hear the album.’” Meanwhile, co-manager Coyne is justifiably proud of how they handled the shift. “They’ve never been stronger,” he asserts. “Serge has grown in confidence and stature as a frontman, and I’m very proud of the band for surviving the highs and lows of recent years. Now, we’re looking at probably the biggest live summer they’ve ever had.” That summer will reach its apex with a massive outdoor headline show at London’s Finsbury Park. It is the band’s latest live milestone, following a homecoming 2024 headline at Leicester’s Victoria Park to 50,000 fans. “The band have grown up with their audience and there’s a really strong connection between them,” says Coyne. “Saying that, the consistent headline slots at festivals across the UK have also given them access to a younger audience, which is paying off to this day and is a testament to their ongoing appeal.” Across the coming months, they’ll also top the bill at TRNSMT in Glasgow, Boardmasters in Cornwall, and on the Thursday night of Leeds Festival. Coyne highlights the impact of working with Simon Moran as a key driver of their triumphant live shows. “We make a great team,” he says. “The band and I feel very lucky to have Simon by our side. Obviously, a massive part of Kasabian’s success is live, and of course that is what Simon lives and breathes. His encyclopedic knowledge and pragmatic approach to all areas is pretty unique, too.” Dipesh Parmar thinks their ability to reach different audiences through multiple mediums is essential to their cross-generational appeal. “You go to their shows and it’s so mixed,” he says. “They have a huge fanbase that’s grown with them and a whole new one coming through. Whether it’s people discovering them through social media channels like TikTok, hearing G.O.A.T synced on Sky Sports, seeing Serge as the chauffeur for Ghostface Killah in Mark Ronson’s legendary performance at the BRITs, or their recent collaboration with Calvin Harris, it’s about that hunger and ambition to continue to resonate with new audiences.” Pizzorno collaborated with Little Simz for his The SLP solo project and has also worked with LL Cool J and DJ Shadow, among others. Coyne’s assertion that this adds up to Kasabian being “much more than just an indie band” is backed up by Parmar. “They are creative, they are huge music fans and are very across the current landscape,” he says. “Serge is always talking to us about new artists he has discovered and really has his finger on the pulse.” For Pizzorno – an eminently youthful, cheeky presence still at 45 – there is evident fuel to be found in watching a new generation of Kasabian fans join the fold. “If you stay in the game long enough, you go through a transition where the crowd gets older with you and then gets younger again, which is the best outcome, because then the mosh pit returns to an insane level – to the level it was when we first started,” he enthuses. “The gigs are better than ever because you’ve got that injection of youth and excitement, but also the people that have lived it with you for the last 20 years.” Life seems deservedly smooth for Pizzorno right now. During the making of Act III, he would go on runs and watch “artisan 1970s films” with his teenage sons; and perhaps as a result of this relative calm, the songs practically fell out of him. “This album came so quickly,” he recalls of the time spent in his home studio, affectionately nicknamed The Sergery. “I was only doing four or five hours a day, which is a new thing. But I was just getting it done.” “I don’t think that Serge is thinking about No.1 albums in the making of his records,” Parmar comments. “It’s about figuring out the sound, what he wants the music to say and how he wants people to feel when listening to the body of work.” Mark Ralph (Years & Years, Becky Hill, Clean Bandit), who co-produced Happenings, returned once more, providing the foil to Pizzorno’s chaotic creativity. “Mark’s like a scientist; he’s got a really good pop sensibility, so we can bring some of those crafted, technical things that pop music does so well, and then dial it into the madness,” he laughs. As a result, Act III contains some of Kasabian’s most concise material to date, from the euphoria of second single Great Pretender to the new-wave synths of Nothing Better Than This. When the record arrives, Kasabian will be chasing a coveted eighth UK No.1. Currently, they stand as only the second band and third act in history to have seven records debut at the top spot in a row. “And if we went eight, where would that put us in that league table?” Pizzorno questions, eyebrow comically raised. “Not that I’m bothered…” There’s a hustler mentality that lives on in the frontman, ignited in their early days fighting for their spot first in Leicester and then amongst a heavily London-centric industry. It’s still present, even now that they’ve achieved sustained and substantial success. “The hustle starts when you’re going around school persuading people to come and see your band, because you only get a gig if you can bring enough people in to buy beer,” he says. “I enjoyed that hustle and I don’t see it any differently now, trying to get the eighth No.1. It’s still just me going around school saying, ‘You’ve got to watch us, man, because we’re the best fucking band you’ve ever seen.’” “Kasabian have always been a band of the people,” Coyne attests. “The songs resonate with their audience and the band are pretty obsessed with delivering amazing shows time after time and the results speak for themselves.” “They have an incredibly loyal fanbase and are continually bringing new people in, too,” adds Parmar. “People want to see them win.” Kasabian have been big hitters in the British guitar landscape since they started. Alongside their incredible charts record, almost a quarter of a century in, they still boast hefty streaming numbers, with more than five million monthly Spotify listeners. Parmar is clearly proud of helping foster their longevity. “Columbia has a history of building career artists,” he says. “Artists like Manic Street Preachers, Calvin Harris, MK, Davido and Mark Ronson have been signed to us from an early stage and we are really proud of that. We love having hits, of course, and we do that very well. But being part of an artist’s journey from day one and creating longevity is why we come to work every day. There is a lot of trust involved in taking the time to build strong relationships, and Kasabian are a brilliant example of that.” Nodding to a busy period, Parmar says Kasabian’s latest campaign is part of an exciting bigger picture. “We are also locked in with our artist development propositions with the likes of Skye Newman, Aaron Rowe and Chloe Qisha,” he says. “So we’re excited about where we can go long term.” For Pizzorno, the trust invested in him by the label to “just let me do what I do” has been instrumental in allowing the band to grow without compromising on his vision. “From day one, when we got signed by Ged Doherty at BMG, through to having Mike Pickering [formerly of Columbia] as an A&R, to now with Dipesh, there was never anyone that would ever get in the way,” he says. “I’m forever grateful because I’ve been treated like an auteur, which is incredible.” Indeed, he reckons there might be a lesson there. “It’s food for thought, letting people be, and saying, ‘Trust in the art,’” he says. “No one really understands what’s going to connect or not because, at the end of the day, the people decide, so let the art find a way.” Pizzorno cites a couple of examples of what he means, describing Raye’s No.1 album This Music May Contain Hope as “stunning” and “authentic – although I hate that word”. He also singles out Rosalía as an artist who embodies the importance of letting people create without boundaries. “It’s someone being left to follow [their intuition],” he says. “Because of that, it just feels like someone being free.” Unsurprisingly, Pizzorno is a vehement detractor of the rise in AI songwriting, comparing it to the difference between “fast food or a paté that’s been handmade and took the chef 20 years to develop”. “People who are using it now to write them a song – are they that desperate to be famous?” he wonders. “It’s taken me 25 years to get to a point where I can confidently say I know how to write a song, and it’s the joy of my life, so why would I let something else take that away from me?” He does, however, proceed to share his concerns for the current generation of artists. “But then, if I was 15 now I’d think, ‘Well, I’m not gonna put 25 years of work into this,’” he says. “I worry more for the next generation of writers going, ‘Why the fuck would I bother learning how to do that?’” Pizzorno illustrates what can happen when the traditional path is followed. The image of him in The Sergery is of a six-foot-plus musical alchemist, cooking up the sort of earth-rattling bangers that can make tens of thousands of people lose their minds. It seems he’s almost allergic to being pigeonholed. “I don’t really make records – I make worlds,” he offers. “I’ve never thought of it as one genre or another.” Release The Pressure, Kasabian’s recent Calvin Harris collaboration, speaks exactly to this outlook. “That was such a great link-up,” Dipesh Parmar smiles. “Serge and Calvin got on well when they spent time together at The BRITs last year and it developed organically from that. It’s a brilliant record and it was great to get the band out there to a new fanbase who really responded well to it. Kasabian have always had that rave influence, so this actually felt like quite a natural extension to some of the music they’ve experimented with and continue to make.” For Pizzorno, Harris’ “incredible craftsmanship with melody” was appealing, but so too was the opportunity to throw yet another curveball out to the world. “I like the leftfield-ness of it,” he grins. “We live in an age where if you don’t do anything new, you just get lost. On some level, it has to be wild because otherwise, who cares? You put something out and then an hour later, someone else does.” This sort of thought process is why both his manager and label head describe him separately as a “visionary”. “Kasabian are special because there’s no one like them,” praises John Coyne. “Serge has always had a vision that’s singular to him and he’s been able to translate that to the band. He really is that rare thing: a true artist.” For Parmar, too, the band’s appeal boils down to a winning mix of spark and determination. “Serge and the guys love what they do and you can really feel that,” he offers. “They’re ambitious and continue to push themselves at every opportunity.” Yet, despite all this eclecticism – and a track record that places them in the upper echelons of modern British success stories – Kasabian have long been fighting to debunk the idea of themselves as something else entirely in the eyes of their detractors. “The first album was influenced by Kraftwerk and Neu, so to be called ‘lad rock’ seemed wild,” says Pizzorno. “But once you’re put in a box, it’s hard to ever escape that.” Coyne suggests it is a more general issue. “To be fair, I don’t think bands overall get the credit they deserve,” he notes. “There’s something so special about bands; that bond between the audience and the artist is so strong and reinforced whenever they play live. One of Kasabian’s strengths is transferring that feeling from album to stage and vice versa.” Even so, over the years, Kasabian have often borne the brunt of misrepresentation, perhaps more than most. In some ways, it’s been responsible for much of the fire and fighting spirit that has categorised the band’s outlook. “I always used it as a positive thing,” says Pizzorno. “The more that I was misinterpreted or misunderstood, the more opportunity it gave me to push the weird [elements] and to push all the things that I love.” However, the sense remains that certain portrayals of the band came from something deeper than just genre; something more related to their background and inability to fit in with the London-centric press of the time. “We didn’t really know how to communicate [back then],” he says. “We’d meet journalists who were really clever and articulate, and we couldn’t speak the same language so we’d just revert to being like, ‘Fuck you’ because that’s the only way we knew. So I get it. I get what it was seen as.” Fast-forward to the present day, and the unfurling decentralisation of the industry is a hot topic, with the BRITs, MOBOs and the Mercury Prize all taking place outside of London. For Pizzorno, championing the regions is absolutely integral. “In all those smaller towns and cities, there’s so much talent out there,” he says. “We just need to make it kinder on people who want to be in a band or make shit, and give them the opportunities to do it. Have councils step up and start providing cheaper rents for artists so they can start a scene. It’s not rocket science. Especially in places like Leicester, Stoke or Lincoln, the sort of satellite towns on the edges, having somewhere to go is so important.” He’s been thinking about starting an initiative in Leicester himself. “I’m trying to figure something out so the city has that,” he muses. “Because Kasabian didn’t have that, we had to make it on our own, and I’d like to see Leicester evolve from that somehow.” You can see why, in 2026, young people would want to be in a band like Kasabian. They’re one of a number of rock groups playing massive outdoor shows this summer, sharing the Finsbury Park calendar with Wolf Alice and Biffy Clyro, while fellow noughties bands like The Kooks and The Wombats still command huge audiences and top festival slots around the UK and Europe. The cacophonous excitement of last year’s Oasis reunion is, Pizzorno suggests, bound to also have a ripple effect. “It takes something like that seismic moment to remind people and to wake them up,” he reasons. Naturally, Pizzorno – who has played shows with both Gallagher brothers – went along himself. “I went to the first show in Cardiff, and then the last one at Wembley, and it was beautiful,” he sighs. “It was just so many things…” It’s a rare concession to nostalgia from an artist whose relentless forward motion and search for the next musical thrill has defined his ethos from the start. If Act III marks the closing of a chapter, then it’s one that’s seen Kasabian firmly write their way into the history books. “Seven No.1 albums to date is no mean feat and they are one of the few UK artists to do it,” says Dipesh Parmar. “I think people are taking note. The guys are very humble about what they’ve achieved but they’re proud too, as are we. It’s a huge achievement and something to celebrate.” An eighth would be even more impressive but, Pizzorno notes, it’s much more than chart results that sets Kasabian apart. “I think, as a person, I’m an anomaly – I don’t really fit anywhere,” he says, concocting one final thought. “I like not being a part of it and I think that’s kept us in good stead. The reason we’re nine albums in and have had No.1 records in three different decades is because there’s so much more going on than just being an indie band…”

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