Give a Beat

07/14/2026

The Arts for Healing and Justice Network is turning TEN this year, and Give a Beat is one of 24 member organizations that make up the AHJN network🧡

We have been a part of the network for 4 years, collaborating with organizations across Los Angeles to expand creative opportunities and healing-centered programming for justice-impacted youth. We are excited to see how the network continues to grow in the next 10 years!

Join us to celebrate a decade of healing and justice! We will commemorate the collaborations that have shaped our first ten years and foster the kind of meaningful connections that will sustain our work into the years ahead.

With art at the center, AHJN’s birthday celebration will feature:

🕺🏽 Dancing
🎶 DJs AND Live Music
🖼️ Galleries
🎤 Performances
👨🏽‍🎨 Interactive Creative Experiences
📅August 22nd, 2026, 4-8PM
📍Inner-City Arts, 720 Kohler St

Be sure to join us at 4pm for our opening remarks and special recognitions.
Lunch and other refreshments provided! Limited edition art prints and merch from youth artists for the first 75 attendees!

Please note, this event is free and open to the public but registration is required for entry. You can register at tinyurl.com/tendinggarden

07/10/2026

There's a line we keep coming back to in our work at Give a Beat:

Music is the doorway. But what walks through it is so much bigger.

We run music programming inside correctional facilities because creative expression does something that few other interventions can. It gives people a way to reimagine themselves, and to reconnect with the relationships waiting for them on the outside.

DJ A-God summed it up better than we ever could: "I want to be a better dad, and I think music is going to help me get there."

That's the ripple effect we're working toward. If this resonates, we'd love to connect: https://giveabeat.org/contact-us

Give a Beat is always looking for new ways to collaborate, get in touch!   Give a Beat387 South Coast HwyLaguna Beach, CA 92651

07/10/2026

Our Co-Founder captured this moment perfectly:

"So proud of Team Give a Beat! We have come full circle! Our alums are becoming teachers and spreading hope to new students.

Give a Beat alumna Geri, domestic violence survivor, mother and grandmother, once served a 40-years-to-life sentence at California Institution for Women. In May 2026, she walked back through those same grounds as a free woman and a Teaching Artist.

Several years ago at a strategic planning retreat, Geri shared this vision to give back and give hope to other women who walked the same path. I'm thrilled for her to be living her purpose and vision with joy!"

We just completed our first cohort at California Institution for Women, and we're still taking it in. This is the first women's prison we've ever taught in through our Prison Electronic Music Program, and after just one week of class, a waitlist had already formed.

Teaching the curriculum inside were Geri, a Give a Beat alum who once served time in that very facility, and Spiñorita, her mentor from our "On a New Track" Reentry Mentoring Program. Read Geri's story in her own words: https://giveabeat.org/impact-stories/returning-as-gerifree

07/08/2026

We just completed our first cohort at California Institution for Women, and we're still taking it in. This is the first women's prison we've ever taught in through our Prison Electronic Music Program, and after just one week of class, a waitlist had already formed.

Teaching the curriculum inside were Geri, a Give a Beat alum who once served time in that very facility, and Spiñorita, her mentor from our "On a New Track" Reentry Mentoring Program. Read Geri's story in her own words: https://giveabeat.org/impact-stories/returning-as-gerifree

07/02/2026

One of our youth participants in juvenile hall came in really low one afternoon. He sat apart from the group and didn't touch the equipment.

The other kids noticed. Without prompting, they let him pick the first song.

That was it - that small act of care. His whole demeanor shifted. By the end of the session, he was in full DJ mode, singing along.

We don't talk enough about what peer community inside a detention facility can look like when it's cultivated with intention. This is it.

Give a Beat creates the conditions. The young people do the rest.

Support the work → giveabeat.org/donate
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Photos are for illustrative purposes only and do not depict individuals mentioned.

06/29/2026

"I already feel like I got new family."

K said that in his first week of class.

He had wanted a program like this for years. When he finally saw the flyer on the wall, he called it "divine intervention." That kind of longing doesn't come from nowhere - it comes from years of isolation, of environments that harden rather than heal, of wanting something to hold onto.

We show up every week with the equipment and the expertise. And our program is deeply intentional about what happens in that room - creating the conditions for healing, camaraderie, and the kind of vulnerable conversations that rarely happen inside a prison.

K felt it in week one.

Help us keep showing up. giveabeat.org/donate
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📸 by Sergio Miranda. Photos are for illustrative purposes only and do not depict individuals quoted.

06/26/2026

It takes courage to perform in front of a live crowd, and even more courage to do it for the very first time.

Last week, three DJ Academy participants stepped up to the stage at LA County Parks’ “Pride at the Park” event and delivered their debut public DJ set. Months of hard work and dedication brought them to this moment, and they rose to it.

This is what it looks like when young people are given the space, support, and tools to turn passion into performance. We couldn’t be more proud.

Thank you to County of Los Angeles Department of Parks & Recreation and everyone who came out and showed these emerging DJs some love! Maximo Ms.Diva c4sxtrii 🧡

06/17/2026

Their first gig starts here. 🎧

These three DJ Academy participants will be performing their very first public DJ set tomorrow at LA County Parks’ Pride at the Park event at San Angelo Park.

Over the past several months, they’ve been building their skills, developing their own musical styles, and gaining confidence behind the decks. Now, they’re taking the next step by sharing their talents with the community.

We’re proud to see young people turn their passion for music into real-world opportunities and experiences.

If you’re attending Pride at the Park, be sure to stop by and support these emerging DJs as they make their debut!

📍San Angelo Park
🗓 June 18 | 5:00–7:00 PM

🎧 DJ Academy in partnership with County of Los Angeles Department of Parks & Recreation

06/15/2026

This Juneteenth, we're not just celebrating freedom — we're feeling it.

Join Give a Beat in supporting a very special event produced by Give a Beat teaching artist and program graduate Daniel Mast.

Sounds of Freedom: A Juneteenth Cultural Experience is happening this Friday, June 19th at Eugene's on Pico, 4PM–11PM. Live bands, open mic, DJing by geriFree, music production workshop, a community chess tournament, Juneteenth buffet, happy hour, and vinyl on the patio.

Because creativity is a form of liberation — and this is a space where artists, neighbors, organizers, and creatives come together in expression, connection, and purpose.

Give a Beat is hosting "Crate Digging for Freedom" on the patio. If you have vinyl at home to contribute, please drop off after 4pm any day this week before the event on Friday.

Hope you can hear. Freedom you can feel.

📍 Eugene's on Pico | 3230 Pico Blvd

06/12/2026

In our Prison Electronic Music Program, we see this again and again.

Men who come in carrying years of disconnection, and leave with something they can bring home. A sense of who they are. A reason to keep growing. A vision of the father, partner, neighbor they want to become.

Music is the doorway. What walks through it is so much bigger.

Watch this video to learn more: https://youtu.be/7_3k5vR4_44?si=lavsFqasHjwFXtim

Explore DJ Drew Giggity's journey with Give a Beat. "Music was th...