Rebirth of Sound Launches At Valley State Prison

The successful launch of Rebirth of Sound at VSP marks a powerful expansion of creative education and for system-impacted individuals.

Common addressing participants during the Rebirth of Sound program at Valley State Prison (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 2025).

In a groundbreaking collaboration between FREE TO DREAM™, Valley State Prison (VSP), Hollywood producer and justice reform advocate Scott Budnick, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), the Rebirth of Sound program is bringing music production, healing, and hope to incarcerated individuals through a fully equipped, professional-grade recording studio.

Rebirth of Sound is a signature program of FREE TO DREAM™, a nonprofit social impact organization founded by Common. The program collaborates with corporate, philanthropic and community partners to install state-of-the-art music studios in prison and juvenile facilities. Its purpose is to harness the power of music as a means of expression, healing and belonging. 

It’s more than an arts program, it’s a reimagining of rehabilitation. The program officially launched July 21, 2025 at Valley State Prison. “Even inside prison walls, people deserve healing. Restorative justice can break the cycle of hurt people hurting people — and when healing begins, it spreads,” said instructor, Roger Brown.

An article published by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, titled “Rebirth of Sound Supports Rehabilitation at Valley State Prison,” offers a powerful look at how creativity supports rehabilitation in correctional facilities. You can read the full piece here.

Bobby Gonz ​ - San Jose Jazz Festival 2025. Photo by @goodhumaning. Leilani Amolo

Common returned to Valley State Prison for the opening ceremony, marking his first visit since 2018, when he hosted a live concert as part of his Hope & Redemption Tour. That performance served as a pivotal moment for many incarcerated individuals, particularly Bobby Gonz, who was invited to join Common onstage for an impromptu performance. Following his release in 2019, Gonz has become a vocal advocate and recording artist, opening for acts such as Coldplay and performing alongside Common at various detention facilities, and most recently at the San Jose Jazz Festival.

Valley State Prison recently welcomed its inaugural cohort of students into a newly established music education program, with plans to expand by offering additional classes and future cohorts. The curriculum, co-developed by the artist Common, not only focuses on the foundational tools, techniques, and software for music production but also on healing and wellness methods through creative expression. Courses are led by local industry professionals who have experience teaching music production and wellness practices to systems-impacted musicians.

"This program and these guys are teaching me just as much as we are teaching them. To make music with and create a space for each other has been a real gift," stated engineering instructor Ricky Reyna.

Upon completion of the program, students will earn certification in Avid Pro Tools and other industry-standard digital audio software. Additionally, individuals eligible for early release may receive credits toward sentence reduction. Reflecting on the program’s impact, one student shared, “There has only been one time since being incarcerated I’ve felt human. Being in class and making music with you all is the second. I feel human here.”

Group photo during the Rebirth of Sound program launch at Valley State Prison (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 2025).

The first Rebirth of Sound program was launched in 2021 at Stateville Correctional Center in Illinois. Since then, more than 50 students completed the program producing over 60 musical tracks, a mental-health podcast series broadcast inside the facility, and 6 live performances. 90% of the students reported feeling more healed, supported, and dignified as a result of participating and completing the program.

“I think this program invites the population to become imaginative again, to begin dreaming again,” Woodruff said. “I think out of that dreaming and that imagination, healing happens (and) rehabilitation happens.”

This is the first of many Rebirth of Sound programs planned to open across the state of California, as additional music studios are set to launch in other detention facilities in the coming months, further extending access to creative education, career training, and healing through music. 

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