Ending extreme poverty in the world seems like an impossible task. But with Bono and a little help from his friends, the end is in sight.

In anticipation of the G8 summit next week, the rocker’s advocacy organization, the ONE, kicks off agit8, a week-long music campaign designed to put pressure on policymakers to take action against extreme poverty. Agit8 recruited the help of at least 50 artists, ranging from U2 and Sting to Mumford & Sons and Ed Sheeran, to release music videos of themselves doing covers of protest songs.

“Music is a powerful tool in galvanizing people around an issue,” says a statement from Sheeran, who recorded a new version of Bob Dylan’s Masters of War. “There’s no better way to get your point across than to put it in a beautiful song.” Mumford & Sons teamed up with Elvis Costello for a video. Tom Morello threw in his star power, along with Green Day and Kid Rock. Macklemore & Lewis are performing their own song, Same Love, as well as Sting, who is performing The Police’s Driven to Tears.

“We’ll use amazing protest songs performed by contemporary artists to get people to take action,” says Jeff Davidoff, chief marketing officer of the ONE campaign, who also masterminded agit8. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, London’s Tate Modern museum will be running a 30-minute film about music and protests, which harnessed actors Colin Firth and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The music videos and the film will be projected onto the museum facade.

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