Over 75 artists, with deep ties to the Chicago arts scene, have come together to pay tribute to the Windy City with the Blues anthem "Sweet Home Chicago". The star-studded video was released today in hopes to raise money to support the Arts for Illinois Relief Fund and to help many artists with are struggling due to COVID-19 closures.
The impressive ensemble of participants in the virtual music video includes Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award-winners and features Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jim Belushi, Keegan-Michael Key, Jeff Perry, George Wendt, Joe Mantegna, Jessie Mueller, André De Shields, Alan Ruck, Rachel Barton Pine, Rhymefest, E. Faye Butler, Ramsey Lewis, Sandra Delgado, Jim Peterik, Lecy Goranson, Kurt Elling,T wista, Chef Rick Bayless, members of Joffrey Ballet, M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Dance Collective and many more.
The Arts for Illinois Relief Fund, a statewide program under Arts Alliance of Illinois, is a collaboration between the State of Illinois, the City of Chicago, and the broader philanthropic community, launched to provide immediate relief directly to individual artists and artisans, including stage and production crew members and part-time cultural workers, as well as art organizations, through grants to help those unable to work during this temporary shut-down. Since its launch on April 1, 2020, they have awarded more than $5,000,000 to more than 1,600 individual artists and institutions but due to the overwhelming response, there are still more than 7300 applicants awaiting funding, so raising additional funds is the current priority.
To learn how you can donate to The Arts for Illinois Relief Fund, please visit: www.artsforillinois.org/sweethomechicago