Ben Kogan | Musicians for Sustainability

I attended a Sustainability Summit for the music industry hosted by Martin Guitar back in the fall of 2025.  It was a great day of panels, Q&A and networking that includes musicians, manufacturers and support organizations all seeking to make the industry a bit more green, sustainable and less negative impact to the earth.

While there, I was able to listen to Ben Kogan speak on one of the panels, and share how “easy” it was to make certain decisions for hosting live music festivals that would be much better for the environment.  And so I approached him during one of the breaks and asked him if he’d come on the show to talk about it, and perhaps help improve the No Planet B Jamboree’s overall impact.

His organization Reusable Solutions and moreso Musicians for Sustainability help work with event organizers in key areas and if they establish certain benchmarks can become a certified festival at varying levels – which we’ve been able to achieve!

Tune in as we learn about Ben’s music journey, the inspirations behind the nonprofits he’s formed, and we talk through the process of getting a festival certified.  It’ll be a good one!

Band Bio

Ben Kogan Band blends Indie-Americana with jazz and bluegrass sensibilities. A graduate of the University of Miami for Jazz Bass, Ben spent two years in Boston performing with future household names like Rubblebucket, Lake Street Dive, David Wax Museum, and Della Mae, before spending 12 years in NYC and Brooklyn. He relocated to Woodstock, VT in 2021 with his wife and son and now lives in Barnard.

He is also a co-organizer of the Imagine Zero festival and founder of Reusable Solutions / Musicians for Sustainability.