Live Music

Our event culminates with a vibrant concert, highlighting blues and jazz and creating an open, joyful space for the public to celebrate. The music serves not just as entertainment, but as a cultural offering that connects generations and inspires continued support for our mission.

Chris Cain & Tony Lindsay
A Tribute to Ray Charles

Blues legend Chris Cain and former Santana crooner Tony Lindsey offer their take on some of the most renowned songs of icon Ray Charles.

John Nava & the Latin Jazz Collective

Monterey, California, based seven-piece, high-energy Latin Jazz ensemble led by percussionist John Nava and drummer Martin Binder combine contemporary Jazz compositions with traditional and modern Latin beats.

25 Years of Building Rancho Cielo

Enjoy all live music at Rancho Cielo’s majestic Sally Hughes Church Amphitheater (pictured above).

Rancho Cielo founder Judge John Phillips remembers it clearly: Rancho Cielo was once “nothing but an unsightly dumpsite.” In those early years, the school was more vision than reality. But it was a bold vision rooted in giving young people purpose and hands-on opportunity. During a Board meeting, someone said, “We should have an amphitheater for these kids.” The idea came with a price tag—roughly $150,000—well beyond the program’s early budget. But then a connection to the Salley Hughes Church Foundation led to funding.

“We had eight kids start on the project,” Phillips says. “They were the most uninspired kids I had ever met. They didn’t want to do anything, so I fired them. I told them I’d bring them back only if they promised to work hard.” They did. And they returned with something to prove. That summer, they hauled base rock, poured concrete and worked alongside the Judge himself. By the end of the season, they had built more than a structure. They had built pride.

The finished amphitheater, reminiscent of the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, features a proper stage and tiered seating with lighting for evening events. When the work was done, the students invited their families to a barbecue to show off what they had helped create.

Over a decade later, that same amphitheater held its largest audience yet. In 2024, around 600 people gathered there for Rancho Cielo’s biggest graduating class in history.
“It started as a vision,” Phillips reflects. “Now it’s a place where young people celebrate their accomplishments. And they built it with their own hands.”

Read more about “25 Years of Rancho Cielo.”