Kentucky Musicians Share 'Lift Up Louisville' for COVID-19 Response Fund

Musicians and artists from the diverse music scene in Louisville, , have collaborated on a charity single, “Lift Up Louisville,” to raise money for the city’s COVID-19 response fund.

Recorded remotely in the midst of quarantine, the song and its accompanying video feature dozens of local Louisville acts including Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Will Oldham, Ben Sollee, Scott Carney, Dani Markham, Patrick Hallahan, Jecorey Arthur, Jason Clayborn and more, organized by the Louisville Orchestra’s music director Teddy Abrams.

All proceeds from the single will benefit the One Louisville Response Fund, the city’s central funding source for providing emergency resources in the surrounding region.

“The arts are the soul of Louisville,” Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said. “Our city is blessed with an amazing array of brilliant and compassionate artists who love their hometown. That love is the backbeat of ‘Lift Up Louisville,’ which tells the story of this moment in the life of our city, our country and our world. And the story of this moment includes the countless acts of kindness, inspiration and unity that we’ve seen in our city as people from every background and every neighborhood have found ways to lift each other up. I want to thank Teddy Abrams and his fellow musicians who found a way to collaborate from a distance and bring our city even closer together.”

Abrams added: “We hope that this song provides inspiration and pride for Louisvillians, and that it functions as a reminder that the city’s artists believe in service to their community in addition to performance at the highest levels. We’d love to see other cities take this model and build their own songs, creating a quilt of songs reflecting the various musical communities of towns around the world.”