Jackson Browne to Play For The Arts

By Gene Williams
Staff Writer

June 15 -- Here’s your chance to see a rock-music legend and help local schools at the same time.

Jackson Browne is coming to Santa Monica High School’s Barnum Hall, Friday, June 30 at 8 p.m. for a special concert to benefit For The Arts -- a foundation that has set a goal of raising $15 million for arts education.

Joining Browne will be local favorite sons Venice – the rock-and-roll side of Santa Monica’s musical Lennon family. Remember the Lennon Sisters from the 1960s Lawrence Welk show? That’s their sisters and cousins. Also performing will be special guests Fred Martin & Levite Camp.

Money from the concert will help fund a variety of music programs at Olympic High School, Lincoln and John Adams middle schools and Santa Monica’s four Title 1 elementary schools -- identified as having the most economically disadvantaged students.

Over the past four years, For The Arts has raised an endowment of $1.5 million for arts education in the public schools. A pilot program last year, which placed a dance specialist at SAMOHI, will be expanded to include all three of the district’s high schools next year.

Also, the endowment is set to enhance drama instruction at the high schools. Other programs are set to come on line in the future.

The June concert will be a return to SAMOHI for Browne who performed a year ago with Los Angeles Afro-Latin-and-beyond band Ozomatli in a For The Arts benefit people are still talking about.

Known for his pathos-filled lyrics and vocal delivery, Browne set the bar for singer-songwriters in the early 1970s with such songs as “Dr. My Eyes”, “Rock Me on the Water” and “Take it Easy.” His string of hits continued into the 1980s with “Boulevard” and “Somebody’s Baby”. More recently he has used his clout as an artist to champion a variety of social and educational causes.

In 2002 Browne received the prestigious John Steinbeck Award, joining past honorees Arthur Miller, Tom Wolfe, Kurt Vonnegut and John Sayles. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Tickets for the June 30 benefit are $50, $75, $100 and $250 ($250 tickets include optimal seating and on-site parking). Call (310) 450-9862. But hurry. Tickets are going fast.