Sixty6 Music Lounge & Studio marks one-year anniversary with live performances and community celebration

On May 17, The Sixty6 Music Lounge & Studio celebrated its one-year anniversary with what it does best: live music and community gathering—plus a collective honor for one of Hough’s longtime leaders. The celebration brought more than 300 people to The Sixty6 at the Warren E. Anderson Midtown Collaboration Center (MCC) on East 66th Street and Euclid Avenue. 

“One year ago, we built a stage. Today, it’s building opportunity,” said Michael Hood, Director, Place-Based Development at the Cleveland Foundation. “This celebration reflects what’s possible when culture, community and purpose come together.” 

Since opening a year ago, the MCC has welcomed more than 13,000 visitors—from collaborators in the building’s meeting spaces and regular gatherings, to attendees at events and performances at The Sixty6. In that one year, The Sixty6 hosted more than 90 free community concerts.  

On Sunday, Cleveland Foundation President and CEO Lillian Kuri welcomed the many special guests in attendance, including Jim and Susie Ratner, whose philanthropic generosity helped turn the dream of The Sixty6 into reality. The Ratners were part of a small group of community partners and Hough residents who visited Memphis in 2022 to explore the Soulsville neighborhood and envision how to inspire a similar concept in Cleveland. 

After the trip, Kuri said, the group came back inspired.  

“We began working with neighbors and partners toward a shared vision for a space that could honor our neighborhood’s rich musical heritage while also imagining a vibrant future,” she said. 

With live performances from FORECAST and from the Fatima Family Center, the anniversary celebration brought together artists of every age.  

“What has emerged within these walls is something truly special,” Kuri said. “The Sixty6 and the entire MidTown Collaboration Center have become a place to gather and to witness the power of community in real time.”  

A Legacy of Exposure: Honoring LaJean Ray  

The event also included a public recognition of LaJean Ray, honoring her more than 40 years of leadership and impact at the Fatima Family Center, along with an invitation for attendees to support the LaJean Ray Legacy Exposure Fund.  

LaJean’s decades of work has built trust, opened doors, and created opportunities for residents of all ages through the Fatima Family Center at E. 66th Street and Lexington. 

Across generations, LaJean’s work has been guided by the belief that exposure to new places can change what people imagine for themselves. Teens have visited, and later attended, colleges they might never have known existed. Seniors have boarded buses to honor cultural landmarks. Young children have experienced field trips that sparked curiosity and confidence. 

The impact of these trips is lasting. 

To honor that legacy and ensure this work continues for generations to come, the Cleveland Foundation launched the LaJean Ray Legacy Exposure Fund, a permanent endowment that will support and expand access to cultural, educational, and leadership opportunities for residents of Hough and beyond.  

 Make your own contribution to the fund here.