New York State of Mind Video

In the mid 1970's, when New York City was on the verge of economic collapse, one might have expected an artist to write a song about the once-great city’s imminent demise. Instead, Billy Joel wrote "New York State of Mind," a love letter expressing his passion for the city. During the equally challenging Covid-19 pandemic, we realized that this song was precisely the rally cry that New York needed. And so, with Billy’s support and approval, we set out to create an all-new recording and music video to inspire, lift the spirits of New Yorkers, and motivate them toward civic action.


Emmy Winner

We're proud to announce that our New York State of Mind video won an Emmy. Thanks to everyone involved who helped create it.


  • Idina Menzel

    Singer, actor, songwriter, broadway star and philanthropist, Idina Menzel, rose to fame in Rent, won a Tony® for her role in WICKED, won an Oscar® and Grammy® for "Let it go" from Frozen, and that's literally just to name a few of her accomplishments. Visit her site to hear and learn more.

  • Stephen Colbert

    American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host, Stephen Colbert is best known for hosting the CBS talk program The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Colbert has won nine Primetime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and three Peabody Awards. Colbert was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in 2006 and 2012. Colbert's book, "I Am America (And So Can You!)," was a "New York Times" Best Seller.

  • Sara Bareilles

    Multi-award-winning, American singer-songwriter, actress, author, and producer Sara Bareilles. Visit her site for music, tour dates and news.

  • Suzanne Vega

    Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter, musician and record producer, Suzanne Vega is widely regarded as one of the foremost songwriters of her generation. Recently Vega was a member of the cast of the Off-Broadway production of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. Visit her site for music, tour dates and news.

  • Cautious Clay

    American singer, songwriter, and record producer, Cautious Clay is a multi-instrumentalist whose style bridges the gap between hip-hop, R&B and electronic genres. Visit his site for tour dates, music and merch.

  • Alexa Ray Joel

    American singer, songwriter, pianist and native New Yorker Alexa Ray Joel has been singing and performing her entire life. Her 2006 EP "Sketches" was released to wide critical acclaim as was her recent single "Seven Years." She has performed and held residencies in the NYC area, for charitable events and occasionally with her father, the legendary Billy Joel.

  • Tom Kitt

    Composer, conductor, orchestrator, and musician Tom Kitt has won the Pulitzer Prize and multiple Tony Awards for his score to Next to Normal along with Grammys and Outer Circle Awards for If/Then and Jagged Little Pill, to name but a few of his accomplishments. Tom served as arranger, conducter, musician and producer on this redux of New York State of Mind. Visit his site to hear and learn more.

  • Ben Stiller

    A New Yorker for his entire life, Ben Stiller was born in New York City and grew up on the Upper West Side. He has written, starred in, directed, or produced more than 50 films including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Zoolander, The Cable Guy, There's Something About Mary, the Meet the Parents trilogy, DodgeBall, Tropic Thunder, the Madagascar series, and the Night at the Museum trilogy.

  • Miss Peppermint

    Miss Peppermint, is an American actress, singer, songwriter, television personality, drag queen and activist who has released two studio albums, Harcore Glamour, released in 2009, and Black Pepper, released in 2017, as well as five EPs. Visit her site for events and more info.

  • Victoria Clark

    Tony award-winning singer, writer, director, star of stage and screen, Victoria Clark's accolades and credits include Sunday In The Park With George, The Light in the Piazza, Wanderland,Homeland, THe Good Wife to name but a few. Visit her site to learn more about her work.

  • Brian Stokes Mitchell

    Tony Award-winner Brian Stokes Mitchell has enjoyed a career that spans more than 40 years in Broadway, television, film, recordings and concert appearances with the country’s finest conductors and orchestras. Visit his site to see the extensive list of credits and accolades,

  • Jerry Dixon

    Jerry Dixon is an American actor, director, lyricist, choreographer, and composer best known for his work on the Broadway stage, including Once on This Island, Five Guys Named Moe, If/Then, and more.

  • Mario Cantone

    Mario Cantone is an American comedian, writer, actor, and singer with numerous appearances on Comedy Central including Chappelle's Show. He also played Anthony Marentino on Sex and the City. Broadway credits include, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Tempest, An Evening With Mario Cantone, Assassins and more.

  • Mark Rivera

    Mark Rivera is a legendary American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, singer and musical director. He is perhaps best known for his work with Billy Joel whom he has played with since 1982. But he was also musical director and member of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band, and has worked with Elton John, Peter Gabriel, Foreigner, Steve Winwood, Joe Walsh and many many other music legends. Visit his site to learn more.

  • LaChanze

    LaChanze is an award-winning actress who brings an exhilarating and electrifying presence to any stage she touches. Her accolades, awards and credits include, the role of August in two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage’s A Secret Life of Bees, The Color Purple, The Donna Summer Musical. Visit her site for more about her amazing career.

  • David Rosenthal

    David Rosenthal is a musical director, keyboardist, producer and orchestrator. Besides his long tenure with Billy Joel, he has worked with Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Enrique Iglesias, Robert Palmer, Whitesnake, Steve Vai, Ritchie Blackmore and Rainbow, Cyndi Lauper, Yngwie Malmsteen, Little Steven and Ethan Bortnick. Visit his site to learn more.

  • Kelli O'Hara

    A multi-award-winning star of stage and screen, Kelli O'Hara's long list of screen credits and awards includes The King and I, 13 Reasons Why, Sex & The City 2, Master of Sex, Kiss Me Kate, The Merry Widow. Visit her site for news, videos, music and more.

  • Brian Newman

    Trumpeter and vocalist Brian Newman was the bandleader and trumpeter for Lady Gaga’s “Cheek to Cheek” album and currently is bandleader and arranger for Lady Gaga’s Jazz & Piano show. Brian also has his own late night Vegas residency at the Nomad, called Brian Newman: AFTER DARK. Visit his site to learn more.

  • Joan Osborne

    Seven-time Grammy nominee Joan Osborne released her tenth studio album, Trouble and Strife, primarily recorded in her basement studio in Brooklyn and released on the label she founded in 1991, Womanly Hips. Allmusic.com declared her “the most gifted vocalist of her generation." Visit her site for music, tour dates and more.

  • Chloe Flower

    Chloe Flower is an American-composer, writer, producer and classical pianist. In addition to her own recordings, she has been featured on albums by Nas, Timbaland, Babyface and Celine Dion. Flower is actively involved in several philanthropic organizations including The Somaly Mam Foundation, Amnesty International and the United Nations. Visit her site to learn more and listen to her music.

  • The Klezmatics

    The multi-Grammy-award winning Klezmatics have performed in more than 20 countries and released 11 albums to date. Often called a “Jewish roots band,” the Klezmatics have collaborated with such brilliant artists as violinist Itzhak Perlman, Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner and Israeli vocal icon Chava Alberstein. Visit their site for music, tour dates and booking info.

  • Zeshan B

    Singer, songwriter, Zeshan B’s breakout album “Vetted” was released in April 2017 to commercial and critical acclaim with the album debuting at #8 on Billboard's Top 10 Albums (World Music) and peaking at #1 on iTunes’ World Music chart. Visit his site for videos and info on shows.

  • Joseph Joubert

    Joseph Joubert has served as the Conductor/Orchestrator/and or Arranger of many Broadway Shows including Motown The Musical, The Color Purple, Billy Elliot, Caroline or Change, Five Guys Named Moe, Truly Blessed, and Amen Corner.

  • Bobby Sanabria

    Bobby Sanabria is an American drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, producer, educator, radio host of Puerto Rican descent who specializes in jazz and Latin jazz. An 8X Grammy nominee as a leader, he is the musical director of Quarteto Aché, Sexteto Ibiano, Ascensión, and his Multiverse Big Band.

  • Andy Cohen

    Television host, producer and writer Andy Cohen may be best know for his show Watch What Happens Live but his accomplishments are prolific. His career began with an internship at CBS and includes producer roles at The Early Show, CBS This Morning, a regular on Today Show and Morning Joe and co-host on Live! With Kelly and The View. He is a New York Times bestselling author, has a SiriusXM channel Radio Andy and has co-hosted New Year's Eve on NBC, just to name a few.

  • Anaïs Reno

    Despite being a student at LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, Anaïs Reno has won international competitions and made her Rose Hall debut in 2019 in at Lincoln Center. Visit her site for upcoming appearances and to learn more.

  • Angie Pontani

    Angie Pontani, "The Italian Stallionette," dazzles on stages around the world with her award winning burlesque performances and in the kitchen with her blog and web series, Hey, it's Angie!. The New Yorker calls Angie, “first rate, the perfect centerpiece!” and rightfully so, as her signature acts and productions set standards of style and class. Visit her site to learn more.


New York State of Mind : Behind-the-Scenes