Members of Dark Star Orchestra, Furthur and more are on board for the inaugural Grateful Guitars Foundation benefit concert. The event is set to take place at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall on August 13 marking the 48th anniversary of the Grateful Dead’s concert at the venue — one of only four GD shows in 1975 — where they played most of their then-yet-to-be-released album, Blues For Allah, and which was later released as One From The Vault.
Musicians participating in the event include Alex Jordan (Cubensis), Jeff Mattson (DSO), Rob Eaton (DSO), Skip Vangelas (DSO), Rob Barraco (DSO), Dino English (DSO), John Kadlecik (Furthur), Stu Allen (Phil & Friends), Garrett Deloian (JMF), Nate LaPointe (Cubensis), Brad Rhodus.(Cubensis), Scott Guberman (Phil & Friends), Sunshine Becker (Furthur), Elliott Peck (Midnight North), Zach Nugent (Dead Set), Danny Eisenberg (Mother Hips), Brian Rashap (Mother Hips), Jeremy Hoenig (Melvin Seals & JGB) and Roger Sideman (China Cats).
Grateful Guitars Founder Andy Logan started out collecting guitar models used by Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir and eventually owned some of the actual instruments played by the band including Jerry’s famed “Alligator” guitar, the D-28 Martin acoustic guitar he used on “Ripple” and Bob Weir’s Modulus Blackknife played in the mid-1980s. For the past 10 years, Logan has loaned these instruments out to musicians seeking to recreate the tones they provide.
Soon, more collectors including Jason Scheuner — who owns Phil Lesh’s Mission Control bass among other instruments — and David Meerman along with Scott and Nate Bidner joined the Grateful Guitars Foundation in an effort to keep these instruments doing what they’re meant to do.
“These instruments should be played, not mounted on a wall,” Logan said. “I wanted to share them with the fans and players who have loved the Grateful Dead, so that the jam scene is enlivened by their unique tones and historical significance.”
“Since the Grateful Dead’s legendary Blues for Allah record release in 1975, 8/13 is an important date for the Great American Music Hall,” Great America Music Hall’s Fred Barnes added. “We are excited to honor this date by hosting this inaugural benefit for the Grateful Guitars Foundation, as we fully support their cause to get top instruments into the hands of these incredible players.”
Tickets go on sale Friday, June 16 at 10 a.m. PT. Click below for ticketing and show info.
