Through our merchandise sales and fundraising efforts, we have raised money to assist various organizations in the following areas: Education, Undocumented Youth & Immigration Reform, Women’s Reproductive Rights, Wildlife Animal Protection, and LGBTQ Advocacy.
Best known for his curvy post-pop imagery and highly saturated colors, Alimo has a style that is instantly recognizable. The featured artworks in his first solo show, Solitude Safari, illustrate the pursuit of solace in the bustling setting of New York, and the chaos and tranquility that exist within this urban landscape.
The opening party had a huge turnout, with hundreds of fans and friends coming through our doors. Several of the main pieces were sold, as well as Alimo merch and watercolors. City of the Sun played a late set to a packed house, and our friends left happy and a little sweatier than they arrived.
Each physical piece sold from this collection is paired with its own unique digital asset (NFT), the intersection of technology, art and sustainability that Alimo explores in all of his work.
The exhibit will be on view Saturdays and Sundays at the Ilegal Showroom, 38 Greenpoint Avenue, from 12-5pm, July 9-27, and the collection is also for sale on Alimo’s website.
Summer in New York City for music lovers means taking the F Train on the orange line all the way out to Forest Hills-71 Ave. Getting off the train, one is greeted by the leafy neighborhood of Forest Hills in Queens and the sound of nearby live music. New York’s widest spanning borough is home to Forest Hills Stadium, one of the city’s largest music venues and one of Ilegal Mezcal’s longest standing national partners. The horseshoe-shaped stadium is a behemoth of live music, bringing a one-of-a-kind vibe along with our signature Joven and Reposado mezcal cocktails to hundreds of thousands of concert goers every year. Forest Hills Stadium and Ilegal have a lot in common beyond good taste in premium agave — more importantly, we both value and commit to a sustainable future.
“The team at Ilegal really ‘gets it’,” says Forest Hills’ General Manager Jason Brandt. “They know how to be fun and edgy, while also being responsible. They jumped at the opportunity to partner with Small Axe, a hot sauce company that supports sustainable community gardens throughout the country by supplying them with the seeds to bring in a pepper harvest. Together, the three of us developed a couple of spicy cocktails to be sold only at the stadium, and both partners pursued a relationship beyond us. As for us, we now grow peppers on-site and other garnishes for our cocktail program, which is about as sustainable as you can get.”
Forest Hills’ love for the Earth goes beyond growing peppers in the garden, pouring our sustainably-crafted mezcal, or their partnerships with Planet Reimagined’s environmental research initiatives and green-conscious music industry organization REVERB, who helps track their carbon footprint. The summer 2023 season at Forest Hills Stadium has an ambitious goal: to be carbon neutral, and move toward climate positivity. Beyond 2023, they are committed to making shows as environmentally friendly as possible and offsetting their impact and waste.
“We’ve always had an environmental focus here, but we really started to make it a priority after we hosted a Jack Johnson show [and] his team advanced an ‘Eco Rider’ to us,” recalls Brandt. “We found that while we were doing many of the things they asked for, there was more that could be done, and they had just given us a blueprint on how to take the extra step. We decided then that any improvements we would make for that show, we would keep on as policy going forward. We’ve been trying to add and improve every season since.”
A key part of these improvements has been the venue’s conscious effort to offset carbon emissions. Forest Hills supports a conservation project at Medford Spring Grassland Conservation in Colorado. The initiative aims to significantly neutralize any carbon emission generated during the summer 2023 season. If all goes according to plan, REVERB’s calculations — based on the venue’s square footage, predicted fan and employee travel to and from shows, electric and gasoline usage, waste created, and other considerations — predict Forest Hills Stadium will offset a total of 2,119 tonnes of CO2e while protecting 6,900 acres of land from being developed.
Plans and predictions aside, the Forest Hills team maintains that the big picture is possible through small change — and they’ve already gotten started. Forest Hills Stadium is introducing twenty-eight upcycled shipping containers throughout backstage and front-of-house, LED and energy-efficient fluorescent lighting onstage and in public spaces, free drinking water refill stations, solar-powered phone charging stations, shore power to power artist’s production needs while eliminating air pollution, and a comprehensive recycling program to divert recyclable materials from landfills.
“We try to show that being eco-conscious is as much about small steps that we can all do to help, instead of grand gestures or changes to the concert experience,” says Brandt of the venue’s efforts. “We are lucky to be incredibly well served by the MTA and the LIRR, so we work to promote public transit in pre-event communications. Once onsite, we try to make it as easy as possible to participate. We make sure our vendors are using the right products and that we are buying post-consumer recycled products. We utilize a single stream recycling program to simplify the process, and we’ve set up a system in which we can recover all the cans and other recyclables that are generated onsite and get them back into the recycling stream. Fans will probably notice the free water stations (bring your own reusable bottle or pick one up here), the solar phone chargers, and the recycling bins throughout the venue, and can participate in various contests and other fundraising initiatives. That is all straightforward stuff that should just be the norm.”
An approach to environmental sustainability in live music is a pre-eminent concern as our climate gets hotter each year. Forest Hills Stadium’s plan for climate neutrality is centered in plans to eliminate waste while creating efficiency and minimizing carbon output. Running a green-conscious live music space entails a lot of care, seeing where carbon sources are and seeking to lessen and, eventually, eradicate them.
“Each season we further refine the model and last season we actually were able to offset more than we created, thus becoming ‘Climate Positive’,” says Brandt. “[To become climate positive, venues need to] buy post-consumer recycled products. Recycling is a coin with 2 sides. Not only do we need to get as much material as possible into the recycling stream and out of landfills, we also need to help create the demand for recycled things by buying recycled products. If a healthy marketplace exists, recycling can be truly effective. It might be a little pricier, but it’s worth it.”
The Forest Hills Stadium team has a big season ahead, with summer headliners including giants of their respective genres like The Strokes, LCD Soundsystem, Maggie Rogers, and Willie Nelson. Still, Brandt maintains he’s most looking forward to working with the people who make the show possible behind-the-scenes: “We get a chance to build a community of great seasonal employees, and to work with the amazing folks out on the road making the tours happen,” he says.
Now in its third year, Ilegal’s Celebrating YOU program raises funds through special events & dedicated cocktails, for wayOUT, a non-profit that partners with local gender-expansive LGBTQ+ programs around the country.
The fundraiser at our Showroom is the program’s signature event, and this year it featured a silent auction with prizes ranging from framed artwork and custom jewelry to free tickets to Drake at Madison Square Garden. DJ Sarah Von-H provided the tunes, free flash tattoos given by Shannon Virginia, and our friends at Bond Hardware joined us again to offer free piercings.
Our Celebrating YOU fundraiser continues on through the end of June. We are almost at our goal of $40,000 raised! If you would like to support this cause, please stop by a participating venue and order a dedicated Celebrating YOU cocktail. Find a venue near you and learn more about the program here.
Pictures from the event in the gallery below, by Eric Hart Jr.
Opened by John Rexer in the early 2000s, Café No Sé has become the beating heart of an international music scene in Antigua, Guatemala. This is the original home of Ilegal Mezcal + the first mezcal bar opened outside of Mexico.
Bar Ilegal is an experiential outpost of Café No Sé. The 2023 tour set off in April in Oaxaca, and continued in May with consecutive stops in Chicago and Miami.
The stop at the Sylvester was well attended, and we were thrilled to see so many friends from the local team, industry partners, and fans of the brand. Cocktails were executed flawlessly, our tattoo artists Chris Tamborelli and Eddy Ospina gave out 46 flash tattoos, and SUSU brought an electric show with some of our favorite Liza and Kia outfits to date. Have a look in the gallery below, photos by Sarah Craig:
2023 REMAINING DATES
SEP 12 – Atlanta, GA SEP 15 – Austin, TX NOV 8 – Los Angeles, CA DEC 6 [NEW DATE!] – Brooklyn, NY
Opened by John Rexer in the early 2000s, Café No Sé has become the beating heart of an international music scene in Antigua, Guatemala. This is the original home of Ilegal Mezcal + the first mezcal bar opened outside of Mexico.
Bar Ilegal is an experiential outpost of Café No Sé. The 2023 tour set off in April in Oaxaca, and continued in May with consecutive stops in Chicago and Miami.
Moneygun plays a central role in Chicago’s thriving cocktail scene, and Ilegal was thrilled to bring our signature mezcal cocktails to their audience. SUSU delivered an electrifying show, and local favorite Mister Baby Vintage provided custom Ilegal chain stitching. See how it all went down below, photos by Sarah Craig.
2023 REMAINING DATES
MAY 18 – Miami, FL SEP 12 – Atlanta, GA SEP 15 – Austin, TX NOV 8 – Los Angeles, CA DEC 6 [NEW DATE!] – Brooklyn, NY
Bar Ilegal, both the tour and the bar in Oaxaca, are experiential outposts of Café No Sé. Opened by John Rexer in the early 2000s, Café No Sé has become the beating heart of an international music scene in Antigua, Guatemala. This is the original home of Ilegal Mezcal + the first mezcal bar opened outside of Mexico.
The 2023 tour features performances by the legendary SUSU at each stop. To open up this year’s tour, we were thrilled to bring the band down to Oaxaca a few days early to visit Mal de Amor, the palenque in the Santiago Matatlán valley where Ilegal is produced. Guided by Ilegal Global Brand Ambassador, our group learned more about mezcal production, the story of how Ilegal came to be, and met the mezcaleros that make it.
Also in attendance were several VIP guests from some of Mexico’s top bars and restaurants, celebrating the official Ilegal Mezcal launch of distribution to Mexico.
Bar Ilegal continues on in May, first to Moneygun in Chicago on 5/16, then the Sylvester Miami, 5/18.
2023 DATES
APR 27 – Oaxaca, MX MAY 16 – Chicago, IL MAY 18 – Miami, FL SEP 12 – Atlanta, GA SEP 15 – Austin, TX NOV 8 – Los Angeles, CA DEC 6 [NEW DATE!] – Brooklyn, NY
Pictures by Sarah Craig from Bar Ilegal, Palenque Mal de Amor, and our entire Oaxaca trip in the gallery below.
Opened by Ilegal founder John Rexer around 2004, Café No Sé has become the beating heart of an international music scene in Antigua, Guatemala. This is the original home of Ilegal Mezcal + the first mezcal bar opened outside of Mexico.
Bar Ilegal is an experiential outpost of Café No Sé. We are thrilled to be celebrating its history by bringing music, mezcal, and tattoos to 8 cities, starting 4/27 in Oaxaca, with none other than the legendary SUSU.
2023 DATES
APR 27 – Oaxaca, MX MAY 16 – Chicago, IL MAY 18 – Miami, FL JUL 26 – New Orleans, LA SEP 19 – Atlanta, GA SEP 21 – Austin, TX NOV 8 – Los Angeles, CA DEC 6 [NEW DATE!] – Brooklyn, NY
This year’s Paste showcase went down at the fabulous High Noon. Highlight performances included those from Eshu Tune (aka Hannibal Buress), Fruit Bats, Brian Sella of Front Bottoms, SUSU, CM Talkington (ft. Oscar-winner Reneé Zellweger!), Overcoats, Dream Wife, Kate Davis, Death Valley Girls, and William Prince.
The Paste Magazine Showcase hosted 42 bands from around the world, with a guest list over 8k RSVPs. The Ilegal Mezcal team executed three separate activations, Ilegal sampling, Ilegal tattoo flash, and a vinyl DJ. All three came together very nicely and created one of the best atmospheres any of the musicians had ever encountered at a SXSW showcase. Their enjoyment became apparent as so many artists hanging in our activation nearly missed their second set of the day.
Performances included those from Fruit Bats, Brian Sella of Front Bottoms, SUSU, Eshu Tune (aka Hannibal Buress’ rap alter ego), CM Talkington (ft. Oscar-winner Reneé Zellweger!), Overcoats, Dream Wife, Kate Davis, Death Valley Girls, and William Prince. Ilegal gave out 43 flash tattoos over 3 days. The Paste showcase was heavily attended by music industry and brand professionals, and the very popular Ilegal activation became a great way to connect with so many of them, including Universal Music Group, HBO, Hulu, Google, Ad Ventures, C3, The Orchard, Spin Magazine, Levitation, Liquid Death, and Yeti.
This was also the first activation at which we introduced our soon-to-be-released Lime + Prickly Pear N/A seltzer, ‘Sin Ilegal,’ and the responses were extremely positive. Photos in the gallery below by Renato Rimach.
Nighttime is a new talk show hosted by Stefan Marolachakis that takes place in the basement of Ray’s Bar in New York City. Stefan set out to create a show where old school New York artists could hang out with new ones, and create a meeting ground for the city’s past and present. The show’s first episode premiered on February 28, 2023, and we celebrated at Ray’s over Ilegal cocktails.
Episode 1, featuring Jesse Williams (a Nighttime executive producer) and Daniel Arnold, is on YouTube now.
Pictures from the launch party, by Cortnee Daley, below, along with the music video of the official Stefan’s Nighttime at Ray’s theme song by EQPT.
Beginning Earth Day, April 22, 2023, the Ilegal Mezcal Showroom at 38 Greenpoint Ave. in Brooklyn, will be drop-off location accepting used corks to be recycled. These corks will be ground down to create Recycled Cork, which is used to replace plastics and petroleum-based foams in consumer products, which can be collected and recycled again!
Ilegal Mezcal uses Portuguese cork to cap all of our bottles. This is both for the benefit of the product and the environment. Cork allows for the mezcal to breathe and better age inside the bottle, and cork trees naturally absorbs CO2, a greenhouse gas that causes global climate change. And because corks come from the bark of the cork oak tree, harvested by hand without ever cutting down or killing the tree, cork products do not contribute to deforestation.
Cork trees can grow their bark back up to 15 times in their 200+ year lifespan. Harvesting cork boosts the cork trees carbon consumption by up to five times! This is because the tree must absorb more CO2 to grow back its bark. For each ton of cork harvested, the cork forest absorbs an average of 55 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. This means that a single cork represents 55 times its own weight in carbon sequestered. Cork oak trees in Portugal alone help offset 10 million tons of carbon every year.
