Erika Banks is a singer and has been active in HIV/AIDS education and prevention since her college years.  She first became involved with LIFEbeat’s Hearts & Voices program in 2005 when looking for performance opportunities for her church choir members to perform musical outreach in the community.

A friend quickly recommended LIFEbeat’s Hearts & Voices program as one the choir must be involved with.  That partnership between Voices in Unity Choir and LIFEbeat’s Hearts & Voices Program started 5 years ago and continues today.

Hearts & Voices, a program of LIFEbeat-The Music Industry Fights AIDS, is an ongoing free concert series for people living with HIV, provided by an ever-growing community of performers and volunteers. Together they create around 250 shows a year in hospitals, residential facilities, and day treatment centers all over NYC and beyond.

Hearts & Voices Mission & History:

Hearts & Voices began in the early 1990′s, when an AIDS diagnosis was considered a death sentence. Artists from the Broadway community and the cabaret scene began visiting their HIV+ friends in hospitals and hospices to comfort them with familiar songs. Word spread, and demand became so great that they formed a non-profit to organize the shows and reach out to new performers. By the mid-90s the program was mounting almost a thousand one-on-one bedside performances every year.

Eventually, the demands of the program overtook the limited resources of the organizers, and the program became part of LIFEbeat in 1996. Over the last fourteen years, we’ve organized thousands of shows and we’ve seen huge changes, not only in HIV treatment but in the demographic makeup of the epidemic.  Our shows also changed from one-on-one to a concert style format.

LIFEbeat continues to coordinate a network of hundreds of artists and volunteers, all giving freely of their time and talents to entertain & uplift thousands of audience members with music of all genres, from hip-hop to classical. Our performers inspire, empower, and bring hope and joy into the everyday challenge that is living with HIV/AIDS.

Getting involved:

It’s an amazing experience to see your music touch the lives of others. Our artists consistently tell us that performing for Hearts & Voices ranks among their most enjoyable, moving and memorable music making experiences. To receive more information and an application, which is the first step to joining the team, email us at performers@lifebeat.org.

The 2010 VMA Concert to Benefit LIFEbeat – Ke$ha and B.o.B. Performing Live!

For more details visit: http://www.lifebeat.org/news.cfm/news/143