The Lumineers are donating money made from their cover of ‘Blue Christmas’ to the environmental charity Cool Earth.
The ‘Hey Ho’ rockers – comprised of Wesley Schultz, Jeremiah Fraites, Neyla Pekarek, Stelth Ulvang and Byron Isaacs – will give every dollar made from the festive tune – famously covered by Willie Nelson in 1979 and originally penned by Elvis Presley – to the award-winning organisation, which works with indigenous rainforest communities across the globe to halt deforestation.
The band’s founder, Wesley Schultz said: "I grew up listening to Willie Nelson’s Xmas album ‘Pretty Paper’ and this was always my favourite song on it. Of any Christmas song out there, this one stands out to me as a truly good song, Christmas or not. All proceeds from our cover will be donated to Cool Earth, an organisation that works alongside indigenous villages to halt rainforest destruction."
And Cool Earth’s Director, Matthew Owen added: "We were humbled and thrilled that such a fantastic band is supporting our work. The generosity of The Lumineers and their fans means that we’ll be able to protect more trees than ever before in 2017."
The Lumineers were recently announced as the support for Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers alongside Stevie Nicks at British Summer Time Hyde Park in 2017 on July 9.
The ‘I Won’t Back Down’ hitmaker will be joined by his band mates, the Fleetwood Mac singer and Lumineers as they celebrate four decades as a band with their only UK performance of 2017, and a rare one at that, as it is only the second time they’ve played in 18 years, following a triumphant performance at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2012 and two sold-out shows at the Royal Albert Hall.
The Lumineers’ cover of ‘Blue Christmas’ is out now on iTunes.