RISING STARS SHINE FOR LIFEBEAT AT THE BITTER END Greenwich Village - Four NYC songwriters present an evening at the Bitter End benefiting LIFEbeat's Hearts and Voices program, which brings the best in live music to residents of the city's HIV wards. Date- September 19th Time- 8.00pm-10.00pm Place- The Bitter End, 149 Bleecker St, New York, NY Cover- $10 (100% goes to support Hearts & Voices!) Hot on the heels of LIFEbeat's 15th anniversary concert with Maroon 5 at the MTV Video Music Awards, four talented New Yorkers are stepping up for the charity in the fight against HIV. Katy Pfaffl, Cassandra Kubinski, AlySun Panichi and Ben Godwin, all regular performers with LIFEbeat's Hearts & Voices program, have created a benefit night for the charity at Bleecker Street's legendary Bitter End. New York City is the epicenter of HIV in America, with 1 in 70 New Yorkers infected. Some of the most vulnerable wind up in residential facilities with limited access to the outside world. The award-winning Hearts & Voices program brings volunteer musicians into the wards, and the shows are tremendously rewarding for audiences and artists alike. Says Ben, "The residents are so appreciative, and they really get into it- I've seen people get up out of their wheelchairs to dance!" Hearts & Voices has seen its share of celebrity involvement; the program was born on Broadway at the height of the HIV epidemic, and past artists include Jewel and Destiny's Child. AlySun is quick to point out that, "Hearts & Voices is about the contribution of talented, hardworking, independent artists." Independent they may be, but these songwriters are forging ahead with their careers: Katy Pfaffl releases her first live album, 'If I Rise' in the fall, followed by a new studio album in early '08, and Cassandra Kubinski recently won the Billboard World Song Contest for her song 'Wherever You Wait'. 100% of door proceeds will go to support LIFEbeat's Hearts & Voices program. LIFEbeat is always looking for volunteers for all of its programs- for further information, visit LIFEbeat.org. For artist information, please visit myspace.com/katypfaffl, ckubinski.com, bengodwin.com and myspace.com/alysunpanichi.