One805LIVE! If You Build It…

“He’s my security,” Kevin Costner joked, smiling as he gave Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown a friendly pat on the back.

It was a lighthearted moment at Costner’s oceanfront “Field of Dreams,” where nearly 4,000 guests gathered over two nights for ONE805LIVE! – a weekend of music, philanthropy, and appreciation for the men and women who protect Santa Barbara County.

Under pink sunset skies and a rising harvest moon, first responders mingled with familiar Montecito faces and some very famous ones.

“Happy to help,” Rob Lowe said, posing with a group of Santa Barbara County first responders near the concert stage.

The longtime local’s words captured the spirit of the weekend: plenty of celebrity wattage, but the uniforms mattered most.

“They take care of us, so we take care of them,” said One805 Co-Founder John Thyne III.

Sheriff Brown traces One805’s beginnings to the aftermath of the Thomas Fire and Debris Flow, when three couples created the Kick Ash Bash as a giant thank-you to the firefighters and law-enforcement personnel involved in firefighting, evacuations, and rescues. Four founders carried the effort forward into One805LIVE!

Brown credits Richard and Kirsten  Cavendish Weston-Smith, John and Olesya Thyne, longtime musical supporter Alan Parsons, and Costner, who continues to open his “Field of Dreams” estate to the cause.

Friday featured The Temptations, The Four Tops, George Thorogood, Alan Parsons, The Plastic Harpoons, and DJ Samantha Ronson; Saturday followed with Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Slightly Stoopid, The High Kings, and host Kevin Costner & Modern West.

All of the musicians waived their talent fees, donating their performances.

“Every year, we are humbled by the passion and generosity surrounding ONE805LIVE!” said co-founder and CEO Kirsten Cavendish Weston-Smith.

Much of that generosity is now focused on the One805 Mental Wellness Endowment Fund, approaching $3 million toward its $10 million goal to provide lasting menta health and wellness support for first responders and their families.

Brown said One805 has also helped provide the Sheriff’s Office with a mobile command post and critical equipment for its Air Support Unit and Dive Team. But he considers the organization’s support of mental wellness even more important.

“The stress, the burden, and the trauma of those emergencies doesn’t just vanish when the shift ends,” Sheriff Brown said.

The effect of a critical incident can follow the first responder home, he explained, where the experience may have what he called “a corrosive effect on the human soul.”

“That’s why the peer support and mental wellness programs funded by One805 are so absolutely vital,” Brown said. “They’ve established an endowment fund that once fully funded, will ensure that these services are available to every first responder and their family members in perpetuity.”

Former Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Mark Hartwig also spoke about One805 stepping in when funding for confidential, culturally competent counseling was at risk – an immediate need that helped inspire the larger endowment goal.

“We are really touched by the community’s interest in supporting the well-being of our firefighters,” said Montecito Fire Chief Brian Fallon, “and appreciate One805’s efforts to help care for our men and women in uniform.”

Mike LoMonaco, Fire Marshal for Carpinteria-Summerland Fire, saw that community support playing out all around him.

“What they do really well is they bring the community together,” LoMonaco said, noting One805’s increased focus on mental health.

Making his way across Costner’s lawn was proof.

“I see people I know from all over Santa Barbara, Ventura,” he said. “It’s nonstop. It’s like every two feet I have to stop and talk to somebody.” Mike grew up here, graduated from UCSB, and has over 20 years of service as a first responder.

Then came his perfect description of the evening:

“It’s just like a homecoming. It’s like you’re back at your high school reunion. Everybody’s here.”

The weekend delivered its share of memorable celebrity moments as well. Oprah Winfrey presented the One805 Heart of the Community Award to Nina Terzian, honoring her philanthropy and community service. Later, Josh Brolin introduced Kevin Costner & Modern West, sharing Costner’s own early experience as a volunteer firefighter.

“I don’t actually think we can do enough for our first responders,” Costner said generously.

Pat Benatar brought another heartfelt moment, dedicating “Heartbreaker” to her late friend Dolly Parton, with whom Benatar and Neil Giraldo had reimagined the song for Parton’s 2023 Rockstar album.

That may be what makes ONE805LIVE! feel so distinctly Santa Barbara: glamour and generosity sharing the same patch of lawn, legendary music drifting over the Pacific, and a community gathering not simply to celebrate its first responders, but to stand behind them.

What began as a thank-you after disaster has grown into something designed to last – mental-wellness resources, peer support, equipment, and a promise that the people who take care of Santa Barbara County will be taken care of, too.

At Kevin’s field, perhaps the old line deserves a new ending:

If you build it, a community will come.