Keith Urban and Taking Back Sunday Join New York Live Earth Line-Up

Press release
Source: Sunshine, Sachs & Associates

Keith Urban and Taking Back Sunday are joining the blockbuster line-up of performers who will be playing Live Earth New York at Giants Stadium on 7/7/07, Live Earth organizers announced today. A limited number of tickets are available at www.livenation.com/liveearth or by calling Ticketmaster at (212) 307-7171 and (201) 507-8900.

Keith Urban has enjoyed great national and international success over the past decade including #1 Billboard Top 200 Album Chart positions for his past two albums, Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing (2006) and Be Here (2004). He has amassed 7 #1 singles, 12 Top 5’s and has established himself as one of the most electrifying and prolific talents in the industry. He has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide and has been recognized by The Grammy Awards, The American Music Awards, The Billboard Music Awards, Australia ’s ARIA Awards, as well as the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music .

“Global warming is something that will ultimately affect all of us on this planet,” said Urban, who is taking time out of his “Love, Pain & the whole crazy World Tour” to appear at Live Earth New York . “And if there is one thing that music can do, it is to bring people together despite their politics or differences.”

Taking Back Sunday, the New York-based melodic hardcore quintet, released Louder Now on April 25, 2006 and it skyrocketed to Number Two on Billboard’s Top 200 chart a week later, scanning more than 157,000 copies. Now gold-certified, Louder Now has led to multiple sold out U.S. headlining arena tours. Taking Back Sunday has established itself as a pioneering leader and industry role model on the issue of global warming. The band has implemented a set of sustainable standards to all of its tours, such as tour bus and venue recycling programs, organic cotton merchandising alternatives, tree planting and carbon offsetting programs and messaging campaigns to its fans on ways they can fight global warming.

“We all have our own beliefs, but I really feel that the issue of Global Warming is not a political issue up for debate. It’s strictly a case of our survival in the near future, and it is proven scientific fact,” said Fred Mascherino, lead guitarist for Taking Back Sunday. “The truth is that the more we know the more hope we all have.”

Mascherino added: “Our actions can directly help to change the course of the climate problem. Making small changes in your life can add up and make a big difference. That is what makes Live Earth monumental. The fact that all of these people around the world are coming together to make this statement gives me hope. It's not just a grassroots fable anymore. It's reaching all of us. It's not everyday that the people on all 7 continents unite for one event. I think it's an extremely appropriate measure for what we're up against and the message it sends out is that it involves ALL of us, so let's ALL get involved.”

Live Earth New York will feature the following acts live on stage:

AFI
AKON
ALICIA KEYS
BON JOVI
DAVE MATTHEWS BAND
FALL OUT BOY
JOHN MAYER
KANYE WEST
KEITH URBAN
KELLY CLARKSON
KT TUNSTALL
LUDACRIS
MELISSA ETHERIDGE
ROGER WATERS
SMASHING PUMPKINS
TAKING BACK SUNDAY
THE POLICE

“Live Earth is about engaging a mass movement of people to take action against the climate crisis,” Live Earth Founder and Producer Kevin Wall said. “The addition of popular music acts like Keith Urban and Taking Back Sunday will help us reach millions more people across the globe with the Live Earth message.”

Live Earth is being produced locally by Live Nation.

ABOUT LIVE EARTH

Live Earth is a monumental music event that will bring together more than 2 billion people on July 7, 2007 to combat the climate crisis. Live Earth will stage concerts in New York , London , Sydney , Tokyo , Shanghai , Rio de Janeiro , Johannesburg and Hamburg , and will feature more than 150 of the world’s best music acts – a mix of both legendary music acts like The Police, Genesis, Bon Jovi and Madonna with the latest headliners like Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson, Black Eyed Peas and Jack Johnson.

Live Earth's 24 hours of music across 7 continents will deliver a worldwide call to action and the solutions necessary to answer that call. Live Earth marks the beginning of a multi-year campaign to drive individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve the climate crisis. Live Earth is partnering with the Alliance for Climate Protection, The Climate Group, Stop Climate Chaos and other international organizations in this ongoing effort. Live Earth was founded by Kevin Wall, CEO of Control Room, the company producing the concerts globally. Former Vice President of the United States Al Gore is the Chair of the Alliance for Climate Protection and a Partner of Live Earth.

Exclusive online media partner MSN is helping Live Earth reach people in every corner of the globe. Live Earth Hamburg will be streamed live at http://liveearth.msn.com. MSN’s 39 localized web portals worldwide attract 465 million monthly users.

smart is the world's only automaker serving as an Official Partner. Unlike any other vehicle, the new smart fortwo combines a modern, individual lifestyle with environmental protection by setting the standard in urban mobility and offering the lowest CO2 emission of any vehicle on the market. smart responds to environmental demands with innovative, technologically sound solutions and as a result produces positive and credible answers to the question of ecological driving.

Philips, as the world’s leading lighting supplier, joins Live Earth as an Official Partner. Philips was the first to introduce the energy saving light bulb in 1980 and has put environmental product improvement at the heart of its business with its EcoDesign program since 1994, increasing its green product range year by year.

Live Earth is partnering with companies on a local level who share the commitment to helping people live a more energy efficient lifestyle. PepsiCo, an Official Partner of Live Earth, is committed to making a difference with eco-friendlier packaging, energy and water conservation and waste reduction. It’s all part of PepsiCo’s commitment to Performance with Purpose -- to do better by doing better. Esurance, the direct-to-consumer personal auto insurance company, joins Live Earth as an Official Sponsor and is the latest extension of Esurance's efforts to conserve energy and preserve the planet's precious resources. For more than seven years, Esurance policyholders have helped save thousands of trees by buying their auto insurance online and using electronic documents.