Carly in The Community

Under One Roof: Benefit Concert Raises $50,000
for North Carolina Artists  

 

Presented by Come Hear North Carolina, “Under One Roof,” a three-day, three-hour virtual music festival, raised $50,000 to support artists across North Carolina whose work has been disrupted by COVID-19, organizers announced today.

 

The benefit concert which featured virtual performances, interviews, and messages from North Carolina musicians, who participated to help artists across the state, has been viewed 120,000 times to date. All proceeds from Under One Roof will be distributed to artist relief efforts.

 

Musicians who donated their talent and time included Anthony Hamilton, 9th Wonder, Ben Folds, Fantasia, The Hamiltones, Petey Pablo, Tift Merritt, Jim Lauderdale, Steep Canyon Rangers, Brooke Simpson, Chatham County Line, Joe Troop of Che Apalache, and The Harvey Cummings Project. Additionally, videos created by the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Markay Media in Durham chronicled the impact of COVID-19 on the lives of artists in our state.

Under One Roof was produced by the Charlotte-based entertainment publication CLTure in collaboration with the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The North Carolina Arts Foundation, a nonprofit that raises funds from the private sector to support the work of the North Carolina Arts Council, is receiving and dispersing donations.

Contributions to the fund are still encouraged through the North Carolina Arts Foundation at www.paypal.me/NCarts

 

Carly Jones is a steadfast advocate for social justice and human rights on and off the stage. She believes fiercely in the unique, collaborative power of the melting pot that is America, a country where people can celebrate each other’s differences and identities and solve societal issues together.  


From an early age, Carly has fervently believed in the value of public service and community involvement. Growing up in a biracial household and raised by two public servants, a public school teacher and a public official, issues surrounding race, culture and politics were discussed openly. It's only natural that Carly would carry this unique perspective into her adulthood. During high school, college and now into adulthood, she has worked with individual political campaigns, numerous progressive organizations, GOTV efforts, and local activism initiatives.

 

Carly uses the skills honed from her performance work to address social justice issues. In November 2016, Carly joined forces with a diverse, grassroots team of women in North Carolina to organize The Women's March on Raleigh. Under the theme “Women Mobilize NC”, they organized a radically progressive gathering of organizations and leaders that supported the fight for women's rights, gender justice and racial and economic equity. The march brought over 20,000 people to downtown Raleigh in late January, where citizens connected with organizations doing impactful work throughout the community.

 

She has continued to work with The Women’s March on Raleigh (Women Mobilize NC) as a part of the steering committee, uplifting the work of organizations such as AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood, National Organization for Women- NC, and Southern Coalition for Social Justice. Carly has also collaborated with a broad variety of other movements/marches to assist in the fight for social justice in North Carolina. Carly is dedicated to her home state of North Carolina, which has become the center of national attention politically with issues such as HB2, racially-biased gerrymandering, and voter suppression. Carly is now the co-director of New Leader’s Council, North Carolina, training future progressive leaders of the state.

 

Carly's "sweet spot" is when her two passions-the arts and activism-are combined to create the most powerful form of expression, artistic activism or “artivism”. Inspired by Nina Simone's quote, "An artist's duty is to reflect the times", Carly believes that the arts can be used as a unique and effective tool to cultivate empathy and bridge divisions throughout our diverse country.