By Colin Griffith
Beatie Wolfe is one of Taylor’s most prolific artists, and her focus on protecting the environment is just one part of her drive to change the world with music. She is more than just an award-winning singer-songwriter—she’s a musical innovator who changes how we hear music with each new release. From the songs she composes and performs on her Taylor guitar to sending recordings into space, Beatie is always exploring new musical frontiers and searching for fresh ways to bring the magic of musical storytelling into the digital age.
In her latest video, Beatie seeks to change the way we think about the resources around us by speaking with our friends at West Coast Arborists, who help maintain California’s urban forests and supply upcycled wood to Taylor for high-end guitar manufacturing. WCA’s Street Tree Revival program is already making strides in replenishing California’s urban canopy, working in underserved areas to enhance the proven environmental and personal benefits of trees in populated areas.
Beatie’s own guitar, a Taylor Builder’s Edition 324ce, is composed of Taylor’s Urban Ash tonewood, harvested from end-of-life Shamel Ash trees from the streets of Los Angeles, CA. It’s part of a circular economy initiative to give new life and value to the urban canopy by diverting trees from carbon waste—mulch or firewood— and instead turning them into material for guitars, furniture and homes.
Forestry and CO2 emissions are a major focus for Beatie in 2021 as she performs and releases music throughout the year. She was recently invited to perform at the first-ever Nobel Prize Summit, April 26-28, and will present an exhibition at the London Design Biennale June 1-27. Part music, part visual data storytelling project, the exhibition will illustrate the dramatic increase of CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere from 800,000 years ago to the modern, industrialized world. You can see a preview of the project here.
For more information on Beatie’s activism and music, visit her website and follow her on Instagram.