Charlie’s Seats honors Charlie Naylor, a generous, free spirit with overwhelming wanderlust and a sense of adventure. Down-to-earth, easygoing, and authentic, music brought him immense joy, and sharing that joy with others was an ongoing passion.
When Charlie passed away unexpectedly in 2016, his mother, Susan Naylor, wanted to honor his love of live music by creating the Charlie’s Seats Program at The Tobin Center to ensure that Charlie could continue sharing live performances with people in our community, regardless of their ability to purchase tickets.
Launched in 2021, Charlie’s Seats provided complimentary tickets to underserved youth. The program's quick success led to the creation of five other arts access ticket programs. In 2024, Charlie’s Seats became the umbrella name for all of The Tobin Center’s programs that provide complimentary and discounted tickets, and the original Charlie’s Seats program was renamed Friends of Charlie.
In addition to Friends of Charlie, the Charlie’s Seats program includes four other free and discounted ticketing programs with opportunities for area college students, first responders, teachers, active and retired military, and SNAP recipients to receive deeply discounted and FREE tickets to Tobin Center performances.
