What does it feel like to hear live music when you're incarcerated — when the world outside has largely moved on without you?

Singer-songwriter Matt Butler knows the answer better than almost anyone. Over the past several years, Matt has performed in more than 50 prisons and jails across the country, bringing original music — and genuine human connection — to people who are too often forgotten. As featured on NPR's Morning Edition, Matt's shows aren't just concerts. They're conversations. They're moments of reflection, recognition, and humanity in places that don't always have enough of either.

This June, we are bringing Matt Butler to Monterey County.

Central Coast Overdose Prevention (CCODP), a tri-county coalition working to combat the opioid epidemic and connect people with substance use resources across Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties, is partnering with the Transformative Justice Center (TJC) — a Monterey-based organization dedicated to building bridges of empathy, healing, and insight between the incarcerated and the public — to host a series of Matt Butler concerts at jails and prisons right here in our community.

We believe that people who are incarcerated deserve to be seen. We know from research — and from lived experience — that connection, dignity, and hope are powerful forces in recovery and rehabilitation. Music is one of the most direct paths to all three.

Here's what your donation makes possible:

- Live concerts for incarcerated men and women at Monterey County facilities this June

- An experience that says to people behind bars: you are not forgotten

- A collaboration between two local nonprofits committed to healing, justice, and community

Every dollar raised goes directly toward making these concerts happen — covering Matt's travel, accommodations, and performance costs so that the people who need this most can experience it for free.

Matt Butler plays for audiences who don't always get to choose to be there — and somehow, those turn out to be his best shows. We think Monterey County is ready to see why.

Please give what you can, and share this with everyone you know. Music has the power to reach people where nothing else can. Help us bring it to those who need it most.

With gratitude,

Central Coast Overdose Prevention

Monterey, California