SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Senior Airman Anneke Bentley, vocalist with the USAF Band of Mid-America, has shared her voice with countless audience members around the world.
From a Veterans Affairs hospital in Chicago to an art institute in Djibouti, Bentley’s experiences highlight the band’s unique ability to connect people across all backgrounds.
Bentley’s supervisor and fellow bandmate, Tech. Sgt. Joshua Holdridge, said, that as the most visible member of the band, Bentley is responsible for building that connection with the audience.
“The vocalist role is absolutely critical to the success of the group,” he said. “You have to be able to connect with people on some level, or we’re not doing our jobs, our missions.”
Bentley said that she witnessed how music can bridge linguistic and cultural barriers while she was deployed last summer to Qatar. When she traveled to Djibouti, she performed with local musicians at the Djibouti Art Institute.
“There was an instant connection when we started to play,” she said. “Together, we created an original piece of music. Working with the Djiboutian musicians taught me that the common language of music can build meaningful connections and friendships in a very short amount of time.”
Later that same week, the band went to a local orphanage and sang for 75 children.
“These children were kicking around soccer balls in their bare feet and pulling out rocks that got lodged between their toes, but they didn’t complain,” said Bentley. “When we arrived, the kids flocked to us, tugging at our instruments. We started to play and dance with them, and it was an instant celebration.”
Back in the states, the band’s community outreach programs include visits to VA hospitals, where they entertain and honor recovering veterans.
“Honoring our veterans with the gift of music and seeing the joy it brings them is priceless,” Bentley said.
Last year, the band performed a private concert for a young wounded veteran who was learning how to walk, talk and eat again.
“His nurse was in tears,” said Bentley. “She said it was the most lively she has seen him and that it meant so much to him, to have Airman his own age come and spend quality time with him.”
This past Veterans Day, Bentley performed for mentally impaired veterans at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago. There, she saw music calm a patient who was in the middle of an episode.
“As soon as he heard the music, he began dancing and singing along with us,” she said. “I could see how positively the music was affecting his demeanor.”
Whether her music is dissolving cultural barriers or comforting wounded veterans, Bentley said that she has seen countless instances of audience members experiencing healing, inspiration and comfort from attending a performance. For her, this all culminates to create proof of a single principle:
“The power of music to move people is undeniable,” she said.