We didn't pick a theme this month. We didn't curate. We didn't overthink it.
We just asked everyone who works on the Central California Rural Regional Energy Network to send us their favorite song. Their actual favorite. No instructions. No guardrails.
And this is what we got.
Jam band. Jersey punk. A Jamiroquai and Bee Gees mashup performed by Pomplamoose. Smash Mouth. The Grateful Dead. Elton John at his most unhinged. Mariah Carey featuring ODB. Jimmy Buffett. Dropkick Murphys. Spice Girls.
This is CCR REN. A coalition of people who have no business working this well together — and somehow do. Different regions, different sectors, different taste in literally everything.
One of us was doing a hotel energy assessment earlier this year and struck up a conversation with the guy showing them around the building — turns out he was listening to their submission. One of us would like to remind everyone that "you young'uns need some old hippie music in the mix." One of us wrote an entire paragraph about punk venues from San Pedro to Las Vegas to explain why Mike McColgan of the Dropkick Murphys — performing in a dark, dingy club in downtown Vegas with 100 Irish friends — was the only possible choice. And one of us just said: "My favorite 'keep up the good work' song." Done.
United by one thing: the belief that rural communities deserve access to clean energy programs that actually reach them.
Year one is done. The numbers are real. And this is what we sound like when we celebrate.
