June 24, 2025 • 9 mins
KFI’s Heather Brooker sits down with Laurie and Loren Benn, two members of the Benn Family Band, a multi-generational musical family from Altadena whose lives were turned upside down by the devastating Eaton wildfire. After losing 20 homes across their entire family, they’re turning tragedy into triumph through the power of music. Laurie and Lauren share the emotional journey that led them to audition for America’s Got Talent, what fans can expect from their upcoming performance, and how they’re using their voices to heal—and hopefully rebuild. It’s a story of resilience, harmony, and hope you won’t want to miss. Catch their AGT debut on the June 24th episode on NBC.
Don't forget to subscribe to Entertain Me and leave a review! And follow Heather on IG @theheatherbrooker and TikTok @heatherbrooker.
Don't forget to subscribe to Entertain Me and leave a review! And follow Heather on IG @theheatherbrooker and TikTok @heatherbrooker.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, it's hen. They're welcome to entertain me. Today we
are talking with the incredible Ben family. They are from Altadena, California,
and they have been rooted in this community for generations.
Their legacy in the San Gabriel Foothills was tragically shaken
when the devastating ETN fire swept through earlier this year,
destroying their home and tearing apart decades of memories. But
(00:22):
amid the ash and heartbreak, the Bens are rising and
music is their guiding light. They are a gifted musical family,
harmonizing across generations with soulful voices and heartfelt songs. But
instead of giving up, they're stepping onto a new stage.
America's got talent, and they hope to not just share
(00:43):
their artistry, but get more financial support so they can
rebuild their homes and their lives. Joining me now to
share their story is Laurie Ben and her daughter Lauren,
as they open up about their music, their community, resilience,
and how their dreams of rebuilding are taking shape. One
note at a time. Let's go back to that night
in January. What can you tell me about the night
(01:04):
that your family lost their homes?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
You know, the fires were a fast moving situation. I
wish I could explain how the Santa Ana winds really
are on any given day, but they are going eighty
miles an hour, and despite the fires themselves, it was
just like an absolute windstorm, just trying to get around
from one place to the next. And the day itself
(01:29):
was pretty dark because the power had gone out in
our areas, so we were dealing with power averages because
of the wind. Anyway, so it was dark, it was windy,
it was cold, and then to hear that there was
a nearby fire was just, you know, it seemed like
it was adding on to what was already happening. But
we've heard about fires in our area for years. I mean,
(01:52):
we live in the mountains. It's a very normal thing.
Never have we thought about something being as close as
it was until we received a text message with a
folk that showed the fire just a few miles from
our home behind our church, and then we realized how
serious the fires were and that there might be a
chance to evacuate.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
That night, the winds were at the ninety five miles
per hours, and even when we were packing the cars,
the hood kept falling on our heads because it was
the wind was throw small little tornadoes in the road
and then trees were down, wires were down. It was
(02:31):
one of the most scary things.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
And now I understand you all are a musical family.
Can you tell me how music became such a big
part of your family's identity. Has it been passed down
through generations? Tell me a little bit about that.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Oh, absolutely absolutely. Our family has a long, rich history
of singing at gatherings and barbecues and you know, getting around.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Then the girls. It started out with the three oldest girls.
They were invited to sing because they could pick up
harmony naturally. They didn't have to be taught the harmony.
They can listen to a song and just start singing it.
And me and my husband are like that formated.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Well, let's talk about this opportunity you have coming up
on America's Got Talent. Now, you guys have already filmed
your episode, is that correct?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
That's right?
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Okay, so no spoilers. We won't tell everybody what happened,
but I would love to know how this opportunity came
about and what made you decide that this is the
right moment to go on such a national stage and
share your story and music with the.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
World, you know. I think for us, we wanted to
find something that could help take some of the focus
off of the tragedy part of what we were going
through and help us and all of our friends and
family that we're experiencing us move into you know, something
to look forward to, the upward motion or turning the
(03:56):
tide of this big tragedy that we're experiencing in this
crisis into been great and to help us start and
launch the healing process of what we would now know
was a really long one, and for us, the most
instinctive thing was to just do music somehow, some way,
you know. We got our church unfortunately was lost in
the fire, but there was another church down in Pasadena,
(04:19):
like our sister Church of ours, that we were able
to sing at that very first Sunday after the fires,
because there was nothing else that made sense. We didn't
have work or colon or any you know. We were
gathering donations as it were, but we knew music, you know,
and performing our singing and making music as a family
was the most natural thing and the only real thing
(04:39):
that made sense at the time. And the other really
great thing is that the show is filmed in our
sister towns Pasadena, California, And for the last twenty years
we've known that it was filmed there, but we just
never I don't know, we weren't really moved to do
anything in those years. I moved to Boston a couple
of years ago or many years ago, and after that,
(05:00):
I think we just kind of thought, all right, well, sing,
you know, you're in there as a family, but we
knew this was the right time.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Did I read that your family as a whole lost?
Is it twenty homes? Is that right?
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Yeah? We we have an incredibly large extended family of
Bens and my grandfather was one of was one of
any many many, and he brought most of his siblings
from Georgia to Altadena long ago, back in the forties
and fifties. And from that we have just hundreds of
relatives that live in our community, and amongst the extent
(05:35):
of our family and all the extended relatives that own
their homes. Unfortunately, that was roughly the number that was lost.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yes, wow, Well, how are you hoping this AGT experience
will help you in your journey to rebuild both emotionally
and financially.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
The idea around rebuilding financially. Of course, we know it's
a long road, and I think, of course we're excited
about up the idea of winning the Grand Prize, but
ultimately our sites are set on rebuilding of the community
and really getting through what we and so many other
families like ours have really dealt with and trying to
(06:13):
see the brighter side of it. But we're hoping that
on a grand stage and a national stage like this,
that it can be inspiring for other folks that are
maybe dealing with something or deal with something like this
that might be out of their control too. And for us,
the only way again that we knew how to do
that was through music.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
And I know you can't tell me what happened during
the show, but can you tell me how you felt
when you were there as a family on stage and
how many family members were there as part of the
Ben Family band.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
I think the Ben Family band only consisted of six
out of the nine of us, not including the babies,
or so they are twelve of us, but the rest
of them were in the crowd. And then we had
another fifteen or twenty relative that came out from their
various temporary homes to come and see us as well
(07:08):
in the crowd. That was so inspiring to us. It
was such an honor to be able to sing to
our family and to our city and do it in
our city. I mean from the Civic Center, we could
look up and see the mountains, the very mountains that
burned just a couple of months prior to that, and
that was cathartic for us. And you know what was
also really incredible is we didn't realize a lot of
(07:30):
the staff and a lot of the folks that work
on the show also lost their homes in the Ausma fire,
and we had learned that just before we went on stage.
That changed everything for us and it became one of
the greatest things to do that inspired us, you know
as well when we got on that stage, we were
just as inspired being there that as we hope others
(07:51):
are when they watch it.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
And what message are you hoping to send through your
performance to other families who may be going through a
difficult time?
Speaker 3 (07:59):
You know, in the devastation, there are roses that still
can bloom. The opportunity going on a g T in
the midst of all of what we were going through.
I keep calling it a calamity. It was a bloom
de rose once we got there, and you know, and
(08:19):
and the way we were treated and treated I should say,
this is a lot of kindness. And Lauren is right
that cathartic is a really good word. It was like, Wow,
what an opportunity. So if families can just realize that
many times out of the ashes will come beautiful things
(08:41):
and they just have to, you know, stay hopeful and hope, I.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Think that is a wonderful reminder and such a beautiful story.
And thank you both so much for taking the time
to talk with me. We will be watching and sending
you lots of luck and lots of love here from KFI.
So thank you again, ladies, and best of life to
you in the future. Thank you such a great story
of resilience and we can't wait to see how they
do on America's Got Talent. Thanks for listening, everybody. You
(09:08):
can listen to entertain me anytime anywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Hey, it's hen. They're welcome to entertain me. Today we
are talking with the incredible Ben family. They are from Altadena, California,
and they have been rooted in this community for generations.
Their legacy in the San Gabriel Foothills was tragically shaken
when the devastating ETN fire swept through earlier this year,
destroying their home and tearing apart decades of memories. But
(00:22):
amid the ash and heartbreak, the Bens are rising and
music is their guiding light. They are a gifted musical family,
harmonizing across generations with soulful voices and heartfelt songs. But
instead of giving up, they're stepping onto a new stage.
America's got talent, and they hope to not just share
(00:43):
their artistry, but get more financial support so they can
rebuild their homes and their lives. Joining me now to
share their story is Laurie Ben and her daughter Lauren,
as they open up about their music, their community, resilience,
and how their dreams of rebuilding are taking shape. One
note at a time. Let's go back to that night
in January. What can you tell me about the night
(01:04):
that your family lost their homes?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
You know, the fires were a fast moving situation. I
wish I could explain how the Santa Ana winds really
are on any given day, but they are going eighty
miles an hour, and despite the fires themselves, it was
just like an absolute windstorm, just trying to get around
from one place to the next. And the day itself
(01:29):
was pretty dark because the power had gone out in
our areas, so we were dealing with power averages because
of the wind. Anyway, so it was dark, it was windy,
it was cold, and then to hear that there was
a nearby fire was just, you know, it seemed like
it was adding on to what was already happening. But
we've heard about fires in our area for years. I mean,
(01:52):
we live in the mountains. It's a very normal thing.
Never have we thought about something being as close as
it was until we received a text message with a
folk that showed the fire just a few miles from
our home behind our church, and then we realized how
serious the fires were and that there might be a
chance to evacuate.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
That night, the winds were at the ninety five miles
per hours, and even when we were packing the cars,
the hood kept falling on our heads because it was
the wind was throw small little tornadoes in the road
and then trees were down, wires were down. It was
(02:31):
one of the most scary things.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
And now I understand you all are a musical family.
Can you tell me how music became such a big
part of your family's identity. Has it been passed down
through generations? Tell me a little bit about that.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Oh, absolutely absolutely. Our family has a long, rich history
of singing at gatherings and barbecues and you know, getting around.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Then the girls. It started out with the three oldest girls.
They were invited to sing because they could pick up
harmony naturally. They didn't have to be taught the harmony.
They can listen to a song and just start singing it.
And me and my husband are like that formated.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Well, let's talk about this opportunity you have coming up
on America's Got Talent. Now, you guys have already filmed
your episode, is that correct?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
That's right?
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Okay, so no spoilers. We won't tell everybody what happened,
but I would love to know how this opportunity came
about and what made you decide that this is the
right moment to go on such a national stage and
share your story and music with the.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
World, you know. I think for us, we wanted to
find something that could help take some of the focus
off of the tragedy part of what we were going
through and help us and all of our friends and
family that we're experiencing us move into you know, something
to look forward to, the upward motion or turning the
(03:56):
tide of this big tragedy that we're experiencing in this
crisis into been great and to help us start and
launch the healing process of what we would now know
was a really long one, and for us, the most
instinctive thing was to just do music somehow, some way,
you know. We got our church unfortunately was lost in
the fire, but there was another church down in Pasadena,
(04:19):
like our sister Church of ours, that we were able
to sing at that very first Sunday after the fires,
because there was nothing else that made sense. We didn't
have work or colon or any you know. We were
gathering donations as it were, but we knew music, you know,
and performing our singing and making music as a family
was the most natural thing and the only real thing
(04:39):
that made sense at the time. And the other really
great thing is that the show is filmed in our
sister towns Pasadena, California, And for the last twenty years
we've known that it was filmed there, but we just
never I don't know, we weren't really moved to do
anything in those years. I moved to Boston a couple
of years ago or many years ago, and after that,
(05:00):
I think we just kind of thought, all right, well, sing,
you know, you're in there as a family, but we
knew this was the right time.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Did I read that your family as a whole lost?
Is it twenty homes? Is that right?
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Yeah? We we have an incredibly large extended family of
Bens and my grandfather was one of was one of
any many many, and he brought most of his siblings
from Georgia to Altadena long ago, back in the forties
and fifties. And from that we have just hundreds of
relatives that live in our community, and amongst the extent
(05:35):
of our family and all the extended relatives that own
their homes. Unfortunately, that was roughly the number that was lost.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yes, wow, Well, how are you hoping this AGT experience
will help you in your journey to rebuild both emotionally
and financially.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
The idea around rebuilding financially. Of course, we know it's
a long road, and I think, of course we're excited
about up the idea of winning the Grand Prize, but
ultimately our sites are set on rebuilding of the community
and really getting through what we and so many other
families like ours have really dealt with and trying to
(06:13):
see the brighter side of it. But we're hoping that
on a grand stage and a national stage like this,
that it can be inspiring for other folks that are
maybe dealing with something or deal with something like this
that might be out of their control too. And for us,
the only way again that we knew how to do
that was through music.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
And I know you can't tell me what happened during
the show, but can you tell me how you felt
when you were there as a family on stage and
how many family members were there as part of the
Ben Family band.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
I think the Ben Family band only consisted of six
out of the nine of us, not including the babies,
or so they are twelve of us, but the rest
of them were in the crowd. And then we had
another fifteen or twenty relative that came out from their
various temporary homes to come and see us as well
(07:08):
in the crowd. That was so inspiring to us. It
was such an honor to be able to sing to
our family and to our city and do it in
our city. I mean from the Civic Center, we could
look up and see the mountains, the very mountains that
burned just a couple of months prior to that, and
that was cathartic for us. And you know what was
also really incredible is we didn't realize a lot of
(07:30):
the staff and a lot of the folks that work
on the show also lost their homes in the Ausma fire,
and we had learned that just before we went on stage.
That changed everything for us and it became one of
the greatest things to do that inspired us, you know
as well when we got on that stage, we were
just as inspired being there that as we hope others
(07:51):
are when they watch it.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
And what message are you hoping to send through your
performance to other families who may be going through a
difficult time?
Speaker 3 (07:59):
You know, in the devastation, there are roses that still
can bloom. The opportunity going on a g T in
the midst of all of what we were going through.
I keep calling it a calamity. It was a bloom
de rose once we got there, and you know, and
(08:19):
and the way we were treated and treated I should say,
this is a lot of kindness. And Lauren is right
that cathartic is a really good word. It was like, Wow,
what an opportunity. So if families can just realize that
many times out of the ashes will come beautiful things
(08:41):
and they just have to, you know, stay hopeful and hope, I.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Think that is a wonderful reminder and such a beautiful story.
And thank you both so much for taking the time
to talk with me. We will be watching and sending
you lots of luck and lots of love here from KFI.
So thank you again, ladies, and best of life to
you in the future. Thank you such a great story
of resilience and we can't wait to see how they
do on America's Got Talent. Thanks for listening, everybody. You
(09:08):
can listen to entertain me anytime anywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
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