The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union are finalizing details for the annual Sing Out for Freedom benefit concert.
Scheduled to take place at the NYU Skirball Center on Oct. 28, the event is designed to “shine a light on social injustices and civil rights issues through an unforgettable, curated night, featuring song, spoken word and other performing arts,” per the orgs. Titled No Matter What…We Sing Out for Freedom, this year’s 22nd installment will honor multihyphenate Busy Philipps with the Michael Friedman Freedom Award. The honor is bestowed upon an individual or organization for making “exceptional contributions as humanitarians, artists and activists.” Past recipients include Harry Belafonte, Alan Cumming, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Broadway for Racial Justice.
The program will be packed with a roster of high-profile performers and presenters, including Grammy Award winner Sara Bareilles; Tony Award winner J. Harrison Ghee; Tony nominee Eden Espinosa; Jasmine Amy Rogers, the star of Broadway’s upcoming Boop! The Betty Boop Musical on Broadway; Liana Stampur, co-creator of Sing Out for Freedom; and members of the cast of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, Suffs. Additional performers and guests will be announced in the coming weeks.
Sing Out for Freedom was co-founded by Stampur and star of stage and screen Erich Bergen along with NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman. Proceeds benefit the work of the NYCLU and the ACLU to promote and protect civil rights and liberties in New York and across the country. The benefit concert is being produced and directed by Bergen and executive produced by Ari Conte. Michael J. Moritz Jr. will serve as music director.
“This year’s theme for our Sing Out for Freedom concert, No Matter What, is a rallying cry for New Yorkers — featuring song, dance and so much more — to fight for a brighter future heading into election day and each and every day that comes after,” said Lieberman. “This year we’ll sing out to make sure New Yorkers know to flip their ballots and vote YES on Prop 1, enshrining abortion rights and other crucial freedoms in our state constitution. We’ll sing out to celebrate our wins, showcase the fights ahead, and inspire action in the face of a concerted, nationwide movement to roll back our rights.”