The Austin Chronic: Meet the Stoner Who Puts Plants Onstage at Concerts

Perhaps you've gone to a concert in Austin and noticed dozens of potted plants on and around the bandstand: umbrella trees and fiddle-leaf figs amongst the stage monitors, hanging pothos and Boston ferns dangling from the ceiling, and – maybe in a particularly wild moment – a peace lily in the outstretched arms of a crowdsurfer.

If so, you're witnessing the vision of Zak Peters, the plant connect for Austin music – except he wishes he was dressing stages with a different type of greenery.

His music-and-plants concept germinated five years back in the Boston area when he noticed his weed plants grew better to the sounds of synth-heavy music. Peters began taking them down to his basement studio where friends and local bands would perform live to an enthusiastic audience of cannabis vegetation, broadcast via livestream.

Zak Peters of Play to the Plants (Photo by Drew Dogget)

The effort, dubbed Play to the Plants, could only be jeopardized by moving to a state with archaic marijuana laws – which is exactly what Peters did. But in 2021, he began booking PTTP shows in Austin, decking out stages with houseplants.

It's a simple artistic touch, decorating a bandstand with plants, but one that brings good vibes. After all, plants improve people's moods (proven by research) and enjoy being taken on field trips to hear psych bands (not formally proven by research). Over the last 2½ years, bands and venues have increasingly requested Play to the Plants – run by Peters with partners Spencer Voiss and Elana Streuding and made possible by the generosity of Tillery Street Plant Co. (where Peters works) – to furnish flora for shows. The plants now make regular appearances at venues like the Far Out, Hotel Vegas, the 13th Floor, and Mohawk, plus gatherings like Austin Psych Fest, Levitation, and last weekend's Wizard Rodeo. It's a level of traction Peters never predicted, but which he attributes to Austin's accepting nature.

"In Boston, they thought it was ridiculous and wanted nothing to do with me, but in Austin, we've been embraced," Peters laughs. "If you would [have] told me when I moved down here that I'd be doing plant stuff with the Black Angels, I'd have thought you were a fuckin' lunatic."

Officially, Play to the Plants is a "cannabis-themed media, events, and booking company," which sounds quite professional, even if the way Peters transports the plants to clubs is comically DIY.

"There's not one bit of professionality in trying to fit about 30 plants in an 2001 Cadillac DeVille," he admits. "It's incredible how many plants you can fit in. It's also dangerous to be behind me because I can't see you."

The hallmark of a Play to the Plants-affiliated show is Peters coming onstage to thank the club and sponsors and then – if the venue gives its blessing – taking a huge, hilarious rip off an 18-inch bong. It's a not-so-subtle act of protest against Texas' restrictive cannabis laws.

"People do get pumped up when they see it," attests Peters. "I thought they'd be like, 'What the fuck is this idiot doing?' but you hear people throughout the crowd like, 'Hey look. LOOK! Guy's got a bong! Wooooo!' It's fun to get away with in Greg Abbott's backyard."

Asked how PTTP will adapt when cannabis is eventually legalized in Texas, Peters says he'll obviously hope to decorate stages with glorious marijuana plants, but there's another cannabis advocate he'd be more happy for.

"I just hope we get to see recreational weed in Texas while Willie's still alive," he says. "That dude's fought for it so fuckin' hard."