Sting’s Son Joe Sumner Releases New Song ‘Hope,’ All-Star Video to Encourage Voting

Joe Sumner, frontman of Fiction Plane and son of Sting, has shared a new song, “Hope,” along with a short celebrity-filled clip to encourage voter turnout ahead of the 2020 elections.

“Hope” is a bustling pop-rock track with rumbling drums and stirring guitar lines to bolster Sumner’s heart-on-sleeve lyrics: “Hope, won’t you come back to me,” he sings during the chorus, “And make me a believer/And set my heart free.”

As a last-minute get-out-the-vote effort, Sumner corralled a variety of celebrities and musicians to cover the song, which he then cut into a big collage video. The clip features Sting, Ben Folds, Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Corey Glover, Gaby Moreno, the Fantastic Negrito, Barnaby Bright, Aja, Ace of Cups, Juliana Hatfield, Rain Phoenix, Patti Scialfa, Rocky Duwani, Richard Marx, Southside Johnny and Christian Hebel.

While Sumner, who’s a British citizen, can’t vote in the election, he gives credit to his wife, who is American, for inspiring the clip. “I can’t vote, but I can sing,” Sumner tells Rolling Stone. “There’s a lot at stake in this election and I want a more united country for my American kids to grow up in.”

“Hope is a powerful and yet elusive concept in these times,” Sting adds. “So I was moved, along with others, to support Joe’s song of hope and renewal. I hope it connects!”

“Hope” will appear on Sumner’s next album, Sunshine in the Night, which is set to arrive next year. He describes the record as “a luminescent journey through a crystal kingdom of emotions. It’s been a long time in the making. It’s deeply personal and introspective but at the same time it is packed to the rafters with flutes and strings and everything else I could find.”