The artists at this year’s Indy JazzFest promise not only the hippest music this side of the Mississippi, but they’ll also deliver their music in a manner that will have Mother Nature singing for joy.   

This 2008 outdoor event will be powered by biodiesel-blended fuel donated by Indiana-based CountryMark.   

“It takes about 10 diesel-powered generators to power the sounds system, lights and all the restaurant equipment associated with the three days of JazzFest,” said CountryMark Vice President of Marketing Jon Lantz.  “These 10 generators use about 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel or, in the case of JazzFest, biodiesel-blended fuel.”   

Biodiesel reduces diesel engine emissions, which is critical to the success of outdoor events like the jazzy event coming this weekend to downtown Indianapolis.   

“We want people to come to JazzFest to enjoy great music, fantastic food and beautiful Indiana weather,” said Helen Small, CEO of the American Pianists Association, producers of the festival. “Strong diesel fumes are a distraction we don’t have to worry about because CountryMark is delivering biodiesel-blended fuels.”   

Indiana-based Cummins Crosspoint LLP donates the generators that power the event.    

“We plan to use B5 because it has been proven to work well in our equipment, and it is better for the environment,” said Greg Gilmore, Cummins Crosspoint Power Group Vice President. B5 indicates that the fuel is five percent soy oil mixed petroleum distillate. “We like the idea of using American soybeans, and CountryMark is actually an Indiana-based refiner, so we feel very positively about the fuel choice.”    

Jay Eubanks of Cummins Crosspoint Rental Sales added that biodiesel fits well with Crosspoint’s objective to minimize the company’s environmental footprint.   

For generators to operate with power and consistency, fuel quality is also important. According to Cummins, poor quality fuel can cause lags in performance.   

“CountryMark understands quality fuel,” said Eubanks. “It’s a high cetane fuel which gives us easy starts and consistent performance.”    

And when it comes to JazzFest and the 50,000 music lovers expected to attend, performance is what it is all about.  

This year’s Kroger Indy JazzFest is being presented by Coca-Cola. It will be held June 13-15 at Indianapolis’ Military Park, and will feature top local and national jazz, blues, gospel and other musical talent.    For more information on Indy JazzFest, go to www.indyjazzfest.net. For more information on biodiesel-blended fuels, go to www.countrymark.com.