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Lizzo, Tank & The Bangas, Robert Glasper Respond to Lift Every Vote 2020!
October 30, 2020 at 1:20 AM (PT)
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For the last 25 days, hundreds of musicians, artists, cultural workers, and other creators have joined together to support LIFT EVERY VOTE 2020 (LEV 2020) with a series of viral daily performances and artistic actions across the U.S.. LEV 2020 intends to inspire civic action and encourage voter turnout in the lead up to ELECTION DAY, NOVEMBER 3rd. The latest artists to participate include LIZZO, TANK & THE BANGAS and ROBERT GLASPER.
The campaign reaches a crescendo this week by making a final call to all creators and performers — musicians, dancers, poets, visual artists, and others — to harness their talents, organize, and present pop-up performances that inspire the country’s greatest-ever voter turnout. LEV 2020 participants are encouraged to stream and share their performances and events on social media using the hashtag #lifteveryvote and to nominate peers to take part in the challenge.
LEV 2020 was inspired by the summer-long grassroots efforts led by THE BLACKSMITHS and THE WIDE AWAKES, which organized peaceful rallies infused with music and art around NEW YORK CITY fighting for social justice after the murder of GEORGE FLOYD. Jazz musician and double bassist RUSSELL HALL led a "second line" marching band at rallies, and peaceful protests with the direct intention to bring joy and music to the movement.Said HALL: “Music has a magical way of bringing people together. We want this thing to really take off. We hope artists will take this challenge seriously, not only driving voter registration and turnout with the beauty of music, art and performance, but also energizing communities in all fifty states.”
In the course of just over three weeks, the campaign has seen over three million impressions on INSTAGRAM and over 1,000 submissions, with the momentum continuing to ramp up exponentially as the election countdown reaches its conclusion.
LEV 2020 co-founder SIMON RENTNER said, “With the pandemic crushing live entertainment and performing arts, one critical step in its resuscitation is using the power of music and art to ensure that we can get back on track in our society. We hope this challenge will motivate all creators — from any genre, medium, or creative sphere—to safely amplify the importance of a functioning democracy, not just through the echo chambers of our social media.”