Bike riding singer performs to raise environmental awareness

MARQUETTE — The Upper Peninsula and Lake Superior are so beautiful, one man is singing to support them.

Ben Weaver is circumnavigating Lake Superior to perform concerts and read poetry…all on the back of his bike. He’ll make eleven stops in sixteen days. At each location, he’ll partner up with different conservation groups, like Friends of the Land of Keeweenaw and the Sierra Club to raise awareness for our beautiful surroundings.

“Ive been a songwriter and poet for about 15 years, I’ve made eight records and this is part of me making up my own rules for how to do things. I’d rather be outside, I’d rather be interacting with people, I’d rather be working towards connecting people to the environment or to these things, like the lake, that connects every single one of us no matter what we do for a job,” said Weaver.

For Tuesday’s concert, Weaver paired up with Save the Wild U.P. and the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve. The concert raises awareness for the two groups, and the groups help raise awareness for Weaver’s journey.

“We like to reflect the unique culture of the Upper Peninsula and so we do a lot of different events, like hikes and concerts like this so that we can draw on all the diversity that is present in the Upper Peninsula and celebrate it and hopefully come together to protect it,” added Alexandra Maxwell, the director of Save the Wild U.P.

Weaver’s next appearance will be at Lake Superior State University where he’ll partner up with the Lakes Group of the Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club.