Walking along the streets of West Philadelphia, homelessness is an issue that simply cannot be ignored and is one that many students on campus are striving to bring to an end.
This sentiment was brought to life in a benefit concert sponsored by Penn Musicians Against Homelessness on Friday night at the Annenberg Center.
All songs were performed by PMAH members, with the show divided into two acts. Song renditions ranged from current pop hits such as Green Day's Time of Your Life to classic '70s tunes such as The Eagles' Hotel California.
A large number of PMAH members took part in the performance, and all were united for the cause at hand.
"Basically, we're an organization that performs concerts for charities," PMAH co-chairwoman and College junior Sonya Babar said. "Our newest charity is Project HOME, who are here today. We have members from all over the campus and it's a fairly fluid member base."
Project HOME is a volunteer organization that works with the homeless.
As the stage lights brightened, group members dove right into the first song of the night with Blind Melon's No Rain.
By the second act, it was clear that nerves had settled as the musicians let loose with Bob Marley's Exodus, closing the concert with The Beatles' classic A Hard Day's Night, to which the audience was invited onstage to clap and sing along.
In between each song, time was filled by trivia questions and lighthearted skits.
Thrown into the mix at the end of the first act was a guest performance by members of the spoken-word poetry group Excelano Project.
Friends in attendance cheered on and encouraged their fellow classmates.
While a feel-good atmosphere ran thick, the audience was also reminded of the serious motivation for the night's event: to increase awareness of homelessness.
A check for $1,007 -- money earned from previous fundraisers -- was presented to a representative from Project HOME to help with this issue.
Those in attendance enjoyed the intimate atmosphere of the event.
"It was a really fun and interactive show," College freshman Deep Charan said. "I liked how the audience got involved."
Babar summed up the night's event by pointing out that "we've practiced a lot and that's shown."
PMAH can also be seen performing gigs at local coffee houses and other on-campus venues. Babar also noted that next semester, PMAH hopes to start a community service sector.
