Billy Joel, Sting, & Bon Jovi To Headline ‘Rise Up New York!’ Virtual Telethon

Billy Joel, Sting, Bon Jovi, Barbra Streisand, Mariah Carey, and Jennifer Lopez are among those set to appear on May 11th for Rise Up New York! Billboard reported the “citywide virtual telethon will kick off at 7 pm ET, to raise awareness and funds to help New Yorkers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.” The show will be hosted by Tina Fey, with all proceeds going to New York's largest poverty-fighting organization, Robin Hood.

Among the guests set to appear on the broadcast are: Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Bette Midler, Chris Rock, Idina Menzel, Robert De Niro, Spike Lee, Trevor Noah, New York Giants Super Bowl champions Eli Manning, Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, and Phil Simms, with testimonials from some of New York's front line heroes battling the pandemic day in and day out.

Rise Up New York! will be simultaneously broadcast on all New York City TV stations, News 12, Spectrum News NY1, and nationally on CNBC, among other outlets.

Any time that New York has faced tough times — be it 9/11 or Hurricane Sandy, Billy Joel has been front and center — often on the front lines supporting and cheering for New York on many levels. He recalled back in the '70s when the “Big Apple's” dire straits made him realize New York was the only place he could truly call home: “I had moved back to New York from California; it was 1975 to '76. There was a famous headline when New York City was going to default. And New York turned to the feds and said, 'Can you help bail us out?' — and there's a famous Daily News headline, 'Ford To New York: 'Drop Dead.'' And I remember seeing that headline — I was out in L.A. — and I said, 'I'm goin' back. I'm goin' home. If the city's goin' down, I'm goin down with the city.'”

Although Sting owns numerous properties — including homes in England and Italy — he's also a longtime New York City resident: “For me, Central Park is not only the geographical heart of New York City, it's also, in actual terms, the physiological heart of New York City. Life in this city without the park would be simply impossible. I'm fortunate enough to actually live on the West Side here. I have a, a view of the park. I appreciate that every day that I'm here. My family and myself use the park every day.”