Altadena’s Benn Family Band Brings Hope to AGT

In this KFI special report, we spotlight the Benn Family Band from Altadena, a family who lost everything in the Eaton Fire, but found hope on one of the world’s biggest stages. Their emotional audition on America’s Got Talent moved the judges to tears, and now they’re preparing for their live performance on Sept. 2. KFI's Heather Brooker has their story of resilience, music, and the power of family.

This report was first featured on Wake Up Call with Amy King on KFI News.

Don't forget to subscribe to Entertain Me and follow Heather on Instagram @theheatherbrooker.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
You are not hid a song whispered with heartbreak.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
It's never been a moment you.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
And the strength of a lion.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
You are not.

Speaker 1 (00:12):
The Ben Family Band, five relatives from Altadina lost everything
in the January wildfires.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
I always heard about, you know, fires happening, but we've
never actually experienced one this close. There was no power,
there were eighty mile winds, and it was just It
was absolutely the scariest time of our life.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
For generations, the Ben's have been a musical family, harmonizing
in church pews week after week. But Lauren Ben and
her mom Laurie say that fateful night in January changed everything.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Our home and most of the town was gone. We
focused on what we knew to do, which was to
say yes.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
Their homes, their church, their community reduced to ashes for
a time, even the music stopped. The harmonies that once
filled their lives were silenced by the fire, But the
flames couldn't take away their spirit. Hello, Hi, how are
you pretty good? Who are you?

Speaker 2 (01:12):
We are the Ben family?

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Lauria and Lauren took a leap of faith and together
with three other family members, formed the Ben Family Band
and send in a video to the producers of America's
Got talent. They say their goal was to bring hope
to their community and say thank you.

Speaker 3 (01:26):
When we fled our neighborhood, we didn't get a chance
to hug anyone or say hey, I'll see you later
or any of that. Well, we were up there singing
and we were able to speak. It was a way
of saying thank you to our neighborhood as well.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
And where are you from?

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Altadena, California. We, like thousands of other families, lost our
home in January with the fire. Oh, the Altadena fire
took our city and all of our homes.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
Executive producer and showrunner Sam says, the Bends embody what
the show is all about.

Speaker 4 (02:03):
We were just kind of blown away by them, their spirit,
their story. I think it's more about who you are
as a human being and where the people really feel
for you. They root for you, but they also, as
human beings, have tons of personality. They're lovely people, and
so you really connect with them on a human level.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
And their heartfelt performance of rescue earned them a standing
ovation and a ticket to the live rounds. Could I
just say yes.

Speaker 3 (02:30):
It's definitely yes. Yes.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
Lauri and Lauren say they chose Rescue because it's lyrics
carry a powerful reminder.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
We'll continue to choose in music that we feel really
connected to and more importantly, that shares the message of
hope and resiliency for us in our town, we survived
an incredible tragedy. There's resilience in strength and standing tall
when something awful has happened.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
For Lauren and her family, stepping onto that stage wasn't
about impressing the judges. It was about honoring her hometown
and proving that out of tragedy can come triumph.

Speaker 3 (03:11):
And it's okay to do it afraid, find support those
that can uplift you. You know, togetherness is a beautiful
thing that, even if it's just a single individual, stand
strong in it.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
From the ashes of a wildfire to the lights of
a national stage. That ben family's voices are caring farther
than ever before, not with a whisper, but with a roar.
Heather Brooker kaf I News