GRAMMY-Award Winning Band Delivers Electrifying Live Show As Event’s Leading Entertainment; Inspires Hope to End AIDS Epidemic
NEW YORK, NY (November 3, 2015) – KC and The Sunshine Band’s mission has always been to inspire happiness through music. With uplifting, upbeat dance hits like “Shake, Shake, Shake (Shake Your Booty), “Get Down Tonight,” “That’s The Way I Like It,” “Boogie Shoes,” and others, it is no wonder they’ve been able to succeed. But on Monday evening at the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 14th Annual An Enduring Vision New York Benefit Gala at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, the GRAMMY® Award-winning group shined their bright light on the crowd for a different reason – to help inspire hope in an end to the worldwide AIDS epidemic.
The event was hosted by award-winning CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and featured Ford Foundation President Darren Walker as a special speaker. KC and The Sunshine Band took the stage as the evening’s lead entertainer, performing well-known hits “Shake Your Booty,” “Boogie Shoes,” I’m Your Boogie Man,” “Give It Up,” “That’s The Way (I Like It)” and “Get Down Tonight,” leading celebrity guests and attendees to get out of their seats and dance.
Harry Wayne “KC” Casey, the group’s lead singer, who lost a cousin to AIDS in the 90s, as well as many friends, said the disease has touched him deeply and personally. “I am passionate about awareness, prevention and am hopeful for a cure, because it is a disease which is preventable through education. I applaud the great work that Sir Elton John and his foundation has accomplished. The foundation has changed the global face of the disease by reaching out to patients, even at a time when fear and misunderstanding were commonplace. So much progress has been made on the fight against AIDS, but the research, patient-support and access to information must continue until a cure is found,” Casey said.
Recipients of the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s Enduring Vision Awards included M. Michele Burns, Robert J. Coury and Tracey Emin. M. Michele Burns is an internationally recognized corporate and philanthropic leader who played an integral part in EJAF’s inception, serving as an Executive Board Member and Treasurer throughout the Foundation’s 23-year history. Robert J. Coury, Executive Chairman of Mylan, continues to be a visionary in leading the company into areas where it can make a difference, such as improving global health and helping to end the AIDS epidemic. Tracey Emin is a highly renowned and respected artist, who is also a fierce humanitarian and tireless advocate for human rights causes.
For more information on KC and The Sunshine Band, please visit www.heykcsb.com. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook!
Upcoming KC and The Sunshine Band Tour Dates
11.13 Paragon Casino | Marksville, La.
11.20 Prairie Band Casino & Resort | Mayetta, Kansas
11.21 First Council Casino | Newkirk, Okla.
12.31 Thunder Valley Casino | Lincoln, Calif.
02.13 IP Resort and Casino | Biloxi, Miss.
03.19 Ocean Reef Cultural Center | Key Largo, Fla.
03.20 Seminole Hard Rock | Hollywood, Fla.
About KC and The Sunshine Band
KC and The Sunshine Band aim to serve a single purpose: to create instant happiness through music. For over 40 years the group has done just that, topping the charts with seven No. 1 singles and three triple platinum albums, winning three Grammy® Awards, including Album of the Year for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, an American Music Award, and becoming the first act since The Beatles to score four No. 1 pop singles in one 12-month period in 1976. KC and the Sunshine Band’s unique meeting of Caribbean, pop, R&B and Latin inspired infectious grooves and their distinctive Sunshine Sound, impacting the world over and teaching them how to boogie. The band’s infectious sound has given life to countless ad campaigns, hundreds of movie soundtracks and numerous television shows, including the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2014. In 2001, KC was honored with the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences Governor’s Award, the highest honor given by a chapter of the Academy. The band’s infectious sound gives life to countless ad campaigns and hundreds of movie soundtracks. KC and The Sunshine Band has defined dance music and forever influenced music with its timeless sound and mission of getting people out of their seats to celebrate, which is still being fulfilled today.
About Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF)
At the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), we believe that AIDS can be beaten. We act on that belief by raising funds for effective programs and policies, and also by speaking out with honesty and compassion about the realities of people’s lives. Sir Elton John created EJAF over twenty years ago, first in the United States in 1992 and then in the United Kingdom in 1993. Through hard work and with the help of our network of kind, amazing, creative, and generous friends and supporters, the two foundations together have raised more than $321 million over the past two decades to combat stigma, prevent infections, provide treatment and services, and motivate governments to end AIDS. The U.S. foundation focuses its efforts on programs in the United States, the Americas, and the Caribbean, while the U.K. foundation funds HIV-related work in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Join us in speaking out, taking action, and contributing to our efforts to achieve a world without AIDS. For more information, please visit www.ejaf.org.
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