Adam Brett Met (

né The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Metzger, born August 27, 1990) is an American musician, academic, and climate activist. He is known as the

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

and a background vocalist of the

indie-pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and ...

band

AJR is an American pop band founded by brothers Met (), collectively a trio of vocalists, , and songwriters. The brothers grew up in New York City, primarily focused on busking, singing covers and street tap dancing until shifting to songwriting ...

. Met is an adjunct professor at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Early life and education

Met was born on August 27, 1990, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He attended

, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Philosophy in 2012. He later obtained a Master's degree from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. In 2021, he completed his Ph.D. in International Human Rights Law from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

Music career

In 2005, Met co-founded the indie pop band

with his brothers Jack and Ryan while living in

Chelsea, Manhattan Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side (Manhattan), West Side of the Boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. The area's boundaries are roughly 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the south, the Hudson River an ...

. The trio began performing live in 2006 by

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

and

Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. The park is operated by the New York City Department o ...

. The group released songs such as '' I'm Ready'', ''Weak'', and '' Bang!.''' AJR has released albums such as ''

The Click Click or Klick may refer to: Airlines * Click Airways, a UAE airline * Clickair, a Spanish airline * MexicanaClick, a Mexican airline Art, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Klicks, alien race in '' Star Drive'' * Click, minor c ...

'' (2017) and ''

OK Orchestra ''OK Orchestra'' (stylized in all uppercase), often abbreviated as ''OKO'', is the fourth studio album by American pop band AJR. It was released on March 26, 2021, by the band's own label AJR Productions. The album was supported by five singles ...

'' (2021). Their 2018 song '' Burn the House Down'' became associated with the

March for Our Lives March for Our Lives (MFOL) is a student-led organization which leads demonstrations in support of gun control legislation. The first demonstration took place in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2018, with over 880 sibling events throughout ...

movement. In 2017, Met and his brothers released the charity single ''

It's On Us "It's On Us" (to stop sexual assault) is a social movement created by Barack Obama and White House Council on Women and Girls to raise awareness and fight against sexual assault on United States college campuses for both men and women. This campai ...

'', supporting the "

" campaign created by

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and the White House Council on Women and Girls to raise awareness about sexual assault on college campuses. On January 17, 2021, AJR performed at the Biden-Harris pre-inauguration ''We the People'' virtual concert alongside other artists.

Climate activism and policy

In 2018, Met founded Planet Reimagined, a non-profit focused on renewable energy policies, sustainable music touring, and youth climate advocacy. During the development of the

Inflation Reduction Act The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) is a United States federal law which aims to reduce the federal government budget deficit, lower prescription drug prices, and invest in domestic energy production while promoting clean energy. It was ...

, Met worked with policymakers on reaching bipartisan clean energy policies. Met participated in the Social Good Summit in 2019, where he spoke about sustainability in the entertainment industry. He also collaborated with the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

(UNDP) on sustainability projects. In 2023, Met became an adjunct professor at

, where he teaches courses on sustainability and climate policy. He has written articles on climate campaigning and human rights for outlets such as ''

TIME Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''. Met was included in the ''TIME100'' ''"''Climate list" and received the "Earth Award" at the ''TIME100 Next Gala'' for his environmental work in 2024. He was also recognized as a Changemaker by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' in 2024 for his work in climate advocacy.

Personal life

Met is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, describing himself as "culturally Jewish". His parents divorced while he was a child. His father was Gary Metzger, an architect who died in July 2023. Met and his brothers grew up in

Bayside, Queens Bayside is a neighborhood located in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Whitestone to the northwest, the Long Island Sound and Little Neck Bay to the northeast, Douglaston to the east, Oakland Gardens to the south, and Fr ...

, until moving to

, in 2001.

References

External links

*
TIME100 Climate list

What I Learned Negotiating a Bipartisan Climate Policy

The Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024: What's in the Bill
{{DEFAULTSORT:Met, Adam Living people American indie pop musicians Doo-wop musicians American electronic musicians Dubstep musicians American male pop singers American male bass guitarists American percussionists American multi-instrumentalists AJR 1990 births