NYCNext, Smartypants Get Into New York State of Mind For The Arts, Pandemic Recovery

New York City actors, singers, choreographers, musicians, television, and late-night hosts have come together for this 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 “New York State of Mind” video features an array of artists from multiple disciplines and industries--including 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), among many others.
 
“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. “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.”
 
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.

Founder and executive creative director of Brooklyn-based, creative production company Smartypants and NYCNext founding member Joshua Seftel directed the film.

“It was an epic undertaking, the equivalent of shooting 25 different music videos for one film. We wanted to show the diversity and beauty of all five boroughs. Our shared vision with NYCNext and (co-conceiver/music supervisor/co-arranger/co-orchestrator) Tom Kitt, who were the perfect collaborators, was for each artist to wake NYC from its slumber and breathe life back into the city by singing this anthemic song. I hope the heart and confidence behind these performances will inspire audiences to do their part to give back in whichever ways they can,” said Seftel. “My team at Smartypants loves telling underdog stories and we felt we could do justice to something as iconic as ‘New York State of Mind’. It’s a song that was written in the ‘70s to pick NYC up when the city was struggling and was used again as an anthem after 9/11. This seemed like the perfect time to bring it back around. There’s a timeless quality about the piece. It survives and continues on, just like NYC.”
 
This rendition of “New York State of Mind” will appear across the entire New York media spectrum--in taxi cabs, at New York City’s homecoming concerts, as part of the New York Stock Exchange’s outdoor events at Experience Square, and many other local venues and media outlets — from now through year-end. iHeartMedia New York will promote the “New York State of Mind” video on-air across all its six radio stations, as well as on the stations’ websites and social media channels, encouraging listeners to watch the performance and support the New York City community.