Playing for Change

Playing For Change was born in 2002 as a shared vision between co-founders, Mark Johnson and Whitney Kroenke and is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace through music. The idea for this project arose from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. Playing For Change’s first single “Stand By Me” began with a Santa Monica street performer named Roger Ridley; they recorded Ridley’s live public performance and then traveled the world recording more and more musicians to collaborate on the track. Today, the video has over 100 million views on YouTube alone.