August 17, 2021
Beloved New York City actors, singers, choreographers, musicians, and television hosts have come together to produce a video rendition of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” to encourage the city’s recovery from the pandemic.
The effort was conceived of and produced by NYCNext, a passionate group of New Yorkers from all disciplines and industries who have joined together to help inspire New Yorkers, with a particular focus on the arts community. The full video can be found by visiting www.NYCNext.org.
The “New York State of Mind” video features an array of artists from multiple disciplines and industries – among them, Zeshan B., Sara Bareilles, Mario Cantone, Victoria Clark, Cautious Clay, Andy Cohen, Stephen Colbert, Jerry Dixon, Chloe Flower, Billy Joel’s daughter and singer-songwriter Alexa Ray Joel, Joseph Joubert, Tom Kitt, The Klezmatics, LaChanze, Idina Menzel, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Brian Newman, Kelli O’Hara, Joan Osborne, Peppermint, Angie Pontani, Anaïs Reno, Mark Rivera, David Rosenthal, Bobby Sanabria, Ben Stiller, and Suzanne Vega.
The performers were shot in iconic New York City locations such as Birdland (Times Square, Manhattan), the Brooklyn Museum (Crown Heights, Brooklyn), Columbia University (Morningside Heights, Manhattan), La Casita de Chema (Bronx), Maimonides Park (Coney Island, Brooklyn), NYU (Greenwich Village, Manhattan), Open Jar Studios (Times Square, Manhattan), Red Hook Winery (Red Hook, Brooklyn), Russ & Daughters (Lower East Side, Manhattan), Steinway & Sons Factory (Ditmars Steinway, Queens), Tom’s Restaurant (Upper West Side, Manhattan), and the Wonder Wheel (Coney Island, Brooklyn.
“Our goal with this project is to create a collective movement of New York City pride. We want to celebrate our artists as well as the city we love and inspire everyone to step in and support NYC in whichever way works for them,” said Maryam Banikarim, co-founder of NYCNext in a press release posted on PRNewswire. “This all-volunteer movement is a testament to the power of New Yorkers — creative, passionate do-ers who step in to help each other and their city when the going gets tough.”
World-renowned Grammy award-winning performer, singer-songwriter, musician, humanitarian and native New Yorker Billy Joel lent the organization the rights and permissions to use his iconic “New York State of Mind” song to support the project.
All artists featured in the film donated their time, voices, and talent to the project— each proud to display their passion for the city that never sleeps. Said singer-songwriter, actress, author, and producer : “To sing Billy Joel’s iconic song alongside my community members at a time when the city needs us all was so meaningful to me. I’m so grateful this project came to life in such a big way.”
The film, itself, encourages viewers to join the movement by visiting NYCNext.org, which lists dozens of ways New Yorkers can get involved, by supporting our community of artists, local businesses and restaurants, and many more.
Research contact: @PRNewswire
