Good music – and good food and drink – all come together to support a good cause at Rancho Cielo.

Tony Lindsay & the Soul Soldiers were an inspired choice to open Rancho Cielo’s new Jazz at the Ranch music series on Friday, Aug. 25. By the time the show started after 7:30pm, the sun was setting and the temperature was dropping in the hills of northeast Salinas, but the talented band was hot, covering a long list of jazz, jazz-fusion, soul and R&B favorites. The crowd reflected back the band’s warmth, from the opening song, Lou Rawls’ “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Me” to the closer – Earth, Wind & Fire’s megahit “September.”

The opening band, featuring 11-time Grammy winner Lindsay, speaks to the experience and connections of Jazz at the Ranch Artistic Director Michael Jacobi, now retired as executive producer of Jazz on the Plazz in Los Gatos, an annual summer concert series that attracts world-renowned jazz musicians.

Jacobi told the audience of 250 people at the first performance that he saw an opportunity to capitalize on Rancho Cielo’s underutilized Sally Hughes Church amphitheater by bringing in top acts to help raise funds for the youth nonprofit.

Concert tickets include a pre-performance happy hour with food and drink. At the first event there was beer, wine and seltzer served by sponsors Other Brother Beer Co., Folktale Winery and California Seltzer Co., and generous portions of hearty appetizers from other sponsors, including Sardine Factory and Star Market – served by students of Rancho Cielo’s culinary arts program. The money raised by the series is going to art education and mental health programs for students, says Rancho Cielo CEO Chris Devers.

“Mostly we’re here to celebrate life, hope and opportunity,” Devers told the crowd. He said there are three on-site therapists and three part-time therapists through a partnership with Harmony at Home to support students, some of whom were diverted from jail into Rancho Cielo’s educational and job training programs.

The series continues on Friday nights through Oct. 6, with a break on Sept. 22 for the Monterey Jazz Festival. On Sept. 1 it takes a turn toward Western swing, with internationally acclaimed jazz guitarist Bruce Foreman and the band Cow Bop.

JAZZ AT THE RANCH 6-7pm happy hour, 7:30pm performance on Fridays Sept. 1, 8, 15, 29 and Oct. 6. Rancho Cielo, 710 Old Stage Road, Salinas. $100. 444-3533, ranchocieloyc.org