Earth Day music special all day Saturday

Join us this Saturday, April 22, when we spin music all day in honor of Earth Day.

First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day was launched by Senator Gaylord Nelson, who was disturbed by a recent oil spill and other events and wanted to tap into the student energy he saw around the anti-war movement. That first Earth Day (April 22, 1970) is now considered the birth of the modern environmental movement.

“That day left a permanent impact on the politics of America,” Nelson wrote a decade later.

Related: Vote for your favorite Songs About Places

To honor Earth Day this year, every hour you’ll hear a set of songs about the Earth and the environment.

You might here some classics from years gone by, such as “Mercy Mercy Me” by Marvin Gaye or Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi.” But we’ll also focus on more recent Earth-related songs, such as this fiery gem from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs:

Some songs might have a direct political message, like Common’s “Trouble in the Water,” which took aim at the water crisis in Flint, Michigan:

Others like Childish Gambino’s “Feels Like Summer” may have a climate-related message but are more layered (especially considering all the celeb cameos in the animated video for the song).

The day will be full of surprises, so make sure to join us for our Earth Day special programming on Saturday (April 22) starting at 8am MT.