Hearts & Voices
Lifebeat’s Hearts & Voices Progam is an on-going live performance series for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Every year Hearts & Voices produces an average of 250 concerts, bringing the gift of live music to thousands of people at numerous facilities throughout New York City including hospitals, residential facilities and day treatment centers. Every week, talented musicians from all musical genres volunteer their time to play shows for the most appreciative of audiences.
Many New Yorkers living with the virus routinely spend time in facilities that can serve their health needs. Most people in these facilities are not able to go out to enjoy live music and entertainment, so Hearts & Voices brings the beat of the city to them.
Hearts & Voices continuously seeks to adapt to the changing needs of the HIV/AIDS community by tailoring live performances to meet the desires of patients and residents. The Hearts & Voices artist roster is diverse, and always expanding.
Celebrity performers who have participated include Destiny’s Child, LL Cool J, Stanley Jordan, Jewel, Ethan Hawke, Jon Secada and Floetry, among others.
“… some days I can barely get out of bed, but I know that I have to fight this thing… music helps a great deal, we can sing along, and it makes us feel like we are still a part of society.”
- Carol, patient
“Music is a form of contact to another person (expressing) your feelings. But it’s not done verbally, it’s done through the soul.”
- T. J., patient
To volunteer or find out more about Hearts & Voices, contact Erika Banks at 212.459.2590 or at ebanks[at]lifebeat.org. Press kits can be sent to Lifebeat, 676A 9th Avenue, Suite 111, New York, NY 10036.
