India.Arie appears to have the Midas touch, as everything that crosses her path turns to gold, platinum or whatever color you can call a Grammy. She’s won two of those and has received a total of 12 nominations since this neo-classic soul songbird officially came onto the music scene in 2001 with her platinum-plus debut, Acoustic Soul (Motown). Her songs and music videos skyrocket up the charts and capture a sense of inspiration that is truly lacking in the pop mart of today’s music. In the wake of repeatedly abhorrent behavior displayed by certain (in)famous artists, India.Arie stands up for international social and humanitarian causes that have become an integral part of her work. She released her latest record, the certified gold and Grammy-nominated Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship (Motown), on National HIV Testing Day in 2006, and recently returned from South Africa as a US ambassador for UNICEF. Her 2002 record, Voyage to India, won two Grammy’s and three NAACP awards, which put her in a position to pick and choose among her favorite artists as collaborators on Testimony. These include Bonnie Raitt, Akon, Gary Lenox (of Rascal Flatts), Victor Wooten and others. This is an artist who can certainly be expected to deliver one of the more heartfelt and genuine performances to hit any stage in awhile.

Wednesday, September 19 at 8pm. UB Center for the Arts (645-ARTS/ubcfa.org). $35/general, $30/students (box office, Ticketmaster)