Change 4 MS - A Charity Event by Jade Entertainment Group

Change 4 MS was a classy event benefiting a wonderful cause, with all of the profits going to the National MS Society. The evening hosted at Aqua Lounge in Beverly Hills started with dinner and proceeded to a great night of live music. Jade Entertainment's founder Jana Evans bravely spoke of her own experience in being diagnosed with Multiple Schlerosis as well as the incredible medical advancements which have been developed, and continue to improve each day, that have enabled her to live a healthy and symptom-free life today. Research in the field is truly at an important and exciting point now since so many recent advances have been made to reverse the progress of MS as well as many similar autoimmune diseases, and there is still much more anticipated progress. More information about current research and how to donate can be found at National MS Society's site.

Jana, left below, and friends who contributed to the night posed for a few photos before the events of the evening began.











Newlyweds Mike Eddie (an up-and-coming singer songwriter who performed in the show) and his wife Shannon posed for some adorable photos.



A hip jazz band (including guitar and vocals by Greg K) set the mood as guests had dinner and mingled at the start of the evening.



The dj played hip hop and R&B between sets throughout the night.


Jana introduced herself and the cause before showing a short but powerful and hopeful documentary about living with MS.




Singer-songwriter Mike Eddie put on a great set. He is a fantastic performer, with a very cool sound.








Listen to Mike Eddie here. I highly recommend it!

Thanks to Jade Entertainment for the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful event. I am excited and hopeful for the current and upcoming leaps in medical treatments for the hundreds of thousands of people living with Multiple Sclerosis.

Soulfege - Band Portrait

Soulfege (pronounced 'sOl-fezh) describes themselves as an Afropolitan fusion band, blending sounds of Hip Hop, Reggae, Funk & West African Highlife. They have an awesome, up-tempo, unique sound (which you can listen to on their website).

This shoot took place on the rooftop of an apartment in North Hollywood (with only minor complaints from one of the top floor residents!). Many thanks to my friend and fellow photographer, Derek Liu, who helped out with the lighting, which came out stunningly.

An Evening of Independence - A Koffeehouse Benefit Event

This fantastic concert put on by Koffeehouse hosted nine artists that performed in support of the Guitar Center Music Foundation and MS Friends at the Ford Ampitheater in East Hollywood.

My inspration to check out the show was a friend from high school who performed at the event. Kina Grannis is an incredibly talented singer/songwriter, who recently won the Doritos Crash the Superbowl Contest. Her song Message From Your Heart (which so so good!) was played at half time at the superbowl, and she is now recording an album with Interscope Records. To hear more about her, visit her website and definitely check out her youtube blog, which is really fun and creative, and updated with a new song every week!

These are a few shots of Kina from the patio area of the Ford Ampitheatre, where the concert openers performed. This was such a nice summer venue with a beautiful view, you'd never know we were in LA!


Kina's voice resonated through the ampitheater; even walking up the steps to the theatre her harmonic voice and guitar melodies filled the air. To see a moving picture of Kina (with sound!) check her out on youtube.


Another of my favorites from the evening, Keaton Simons is a soulful singer/songwriter with an awesome voice and great stage presence. Listen to his music here.


A Fine Frenzy (Alison Sudo) put on a fabulous set with really unique, energetic, harmonic piano and vocal arrangements. See and hear more here.


Matt Scannell is the lead singer and guitarist of Vertical Horizon, well know for "Everything You Want." He performed a solo version of this song, where he started the guitar chorus and jokingly asked the audience to imagine that it continued while he sang the following verses.


Trevor Hall is awesome! His sound is so unique, and pairs up phenomenally with his steel drummer. His performance got the crowd up on their feet dancing and singing along. You really need to listen for yourself! Seriously!


Tyrone Wells is a native Los Angeles artist with a great voice and beautiful songwriting. His set was great and included the story of his backup career: performing live for marriage proposals. It started when a young man contacted Tyrone requesting that he play "their song" while he proposed to his girlfriend. Tyrone got so caught up in the sentiment of the proposal that he almost forgot to "pop out" and start singing. It was, however, a success, and Tyrone has made two more proposal appearances since! Listen and you, too, will likely consider this joyous service.


The surprise finale was an exciting and uplifting rendition of "I get by with a little help from my friends." All the artists let loose, singing, dancing, hugging, swinging guitars (well, one guitar), and jumping. What a great way to end a wonderful evening!


To see more photos from the night, go here.