Buy a Song, Restore the Planet: the Power of Music in Environmental Activism
The Gen-R jukebox in all its glory!
This season we invite you to feel your connection to the world around you with our Of Land, Sea and Sky programme. Rediscover your bond with nature, the coast that surrounds our city and the sky above us. And what better way to feel this connection with others than with music?
What is GEN-R and the Jukebox?
Generation Restoration (GEN-R) was founded by Sam Zindel in 2025, a positive movement for the world that aims to use music, art and storytelling to inspire change and help in restoring our planet, generating a social tipping point before we run out of time to make a difference.
At TEDxBrighton 2025, Zindel introduced the GEN-R Jukebox, a combination of the old and new-school ways that we interact with music, made of a traditional 1959 Bergmann S80 jukebox with a digital touch screen for the huge digital library of songs it contains. When you pay for a song, you’re donating for a tree to be planted and a small ‘seed of hope’ is also dispensed – a compressed ball of 40 wildflower seeds to plant in your own home or garden.
The jukebox debuted in Amsterdam supporting an Annie Mac gig in June 2025 before having its own spot in the Shangri-La area Grow Room of Glastonbury Festival in the same year. It was wildly successful, dispensing over 2,500 seeds of hope which would eventually grow in 100,000 wildflowers.
Having first been announced in Brighton, it found its next residency in the Big Beach Café in Hove to support ocean, reef and river restoration, this time with Sussex Bay UK and Fatboy Slim. It continued its journey around the country, spreading the GEN-R message of positive change through music, setting up shop in October at the Blue Earth Summit to raise funds for 1% For The Planet.
The Jukebox at TOM
Now, in May 2026, it’s returning back to its’ home city and we have the honour of hosting the GEN-R Jukebox in our very own bar! Our Of Land, Sea and Sky programme has plenty of focus on the power of sound, such as our Of Land, Sea and Sky Soundbath Experience and Sounds of the Ocean Immersive Experience. Being able to block out the stresses of the outside world and focus back into our roots while surrounded by visuals and sounds that can transport you out of the venue and into a world of your own. Not to mention, we kick off our programme with a massive launch party headlined by hometown artist Changing Currents; the global electronic musician connects different cultures and forgotten genres into amazing live performances and mashups - coined the ‘CC Experience’ - to blow audiences away.
We are lucky enough to have Sam Zindel coming to us as a speaker as a part of our Seeds of Hope event on the 8th of May; an hour of 6 inspirational storytellers each sharing their own tales about progress in the climate change movement and how we can come together to make a positive impact on the world, all of which will conclude with a DJ set by one of our speakers, Nico de Transilvania. It promises to be a moving and uplifting experience of hope for the future of our planet.
The Power of Sound
Having the GEN-R Jukebox in our bar means we can begin your journey before you even step foot into the main house. You can donate with a song, watch plants grow before your eyes and enjoy music you love with the people around you while knowing you’ve made the planet and our city a little bit better. In Sam Zindel’s own words, GEN-R is all about “people who are concerned about climate change that are prepared to take small steps towards a better future.”
Music connects us together as people; we can discuss our tastes, whether conflicting or compatible, it brings us together through the power of singing, dancing or simply just listening with someone you care about. Being able to use this to inspire people to change the world through such a shared experience is a simply wonderful thing and we can’t wait for you to experience the GEN-R Jukebox in The Old Market this May!
Sam Zindel will be talking at our Seeds of Hope event on the 8th of May - click here to book tickets