BELLEVILLE, Ill. — A well-known folk band is shining a spotlight on Belleville.
Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats chose Belleville as the location for their new music video.
The band has previously performed on "Saturday Night Live" and opened for the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan while on tour.
Production took over North 11th Street near downtown Belleville on Monday. The band's production company hired local actors and production assistants to help with the music video.
"I think it's very nice that it's local and convenient to get to," production assistant and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville student Madison Lewis said.
"It's always a better feel when it's local, and then you get a feel for how the towns are. Also, meeting local people makes it seem pretty supportive to see work being done in their area," production assistant Nicholas Jackson said.
Belleville resident Jay Martinez said he appreciated how the band put his town in the limelight.
"It simply amazes me. I'm like, how of all places did they pick here? I mean, this is the last place I thought for sure. They said they Googled it and said this was the best area," Martinez said.
Martinez was thrilled to be asked to be a part of the video.
"I'm going to be sitting here watching the TV like he's on there, and I'm jamming. Then he's going to come over here sometime, and I'm going to look over and see him, and then I look back at the TV," Martinez said.
The music video also gave local film students, such as Lewis, real-world work experience.
"I was excited because I am graduating in a week with a bachelor's, so I thought it would be nice to get some firsthand experience. Even though it's pretty long hours, I'm willing to sacrifice that for experience," Lewis said.
Before Lewis graduates from SIUE next week, she said she was grateful to have taken this opportunity and put everything she had learned into it.
"It's nice to see professionals who know what they're doing, and I can learn a bit more about the subject from that," Lewis said.
Rateliff was born in St. Louis and grew up in Hermann, Missouri.
The production company said Rateliff and his band really enjoyed Belleville's traditional and nostalgic look and decided it would be a great backdrop for their video.
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