By Lookout Staff

May 22, 2013 -- Two shows this weekend headlined by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jackson Browne raised more than $125,000 to benefit arts programs in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.

The 10th Annual Artists for the Arts concert saw Browne team up with Gary Wright, known for “Dreamweaver” and other classic rock hits, and local rock band Venice, as well as students and faculty. A second show was added after tickets for the first night quickly sold out.

“Arts in high school are really important,” said Browne, who originated the annual benefit concert with Venice ten years ago. “Arts make the individual complete. Arts connect us to the rest of society.

“They give us a chance to express ourselves and to channel our emotions…and to have a healthy emotional life you have to have an outlet for that. And arts, like sports, are really important for people who are developing.”

Browne, best known for his 1977 album “Running on Empty” and his 1972 hit song “Doctor My Eyes,” was playing the Annual Artists for the Arts benefit at Santa Monica High School’s Barnum Hall for the fifth time.

"It's amazing because every year we do this gig we get to work with kids and do something special,” said Browne, who has sold more than 18 million albums in the U.S.

“We do it once,” he said. “When people come to see one of these shows, they see a completely different show than what they saw last year.”

All three headliners at last weekend’s concerts took turns on stage, joined throughout the night by student orchestra, choir, and soloists from Santa Monica, Malibu, and Olympic High Schools, respectively.

The Saturday night show, emceed by longtime KLOS radio personality Cynthia Fox, featured an auction that included signed guitars, a drum set and tickets to the 2014 Grammys.

Produced by the Artists for the Arts Foundation, these concerts have raised nearly $900,000 for arts programs in Santa Monica and Malibu public schools over the past decade.

“Our annual collaboration with Artists for the Arts Foundation creates truly unique opportunities for our students and faculty to work hand-in-hand with amazing professional musical talents to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences while raising funds to ensure our arts programs can continue to benefit future generations of students,” said Linda Greenberg Gross, executive director of the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation.