DEAD & CO. RAISE $1M THROUGH AUCTIONS

Dead & Company’s series of memorabilia auctions has topped $1m in sales in just over a month, making it the most lucrative in the band’s eight-year history.

That sum includes nearly $220k from fine art pieces created and donated by drummer Mickey Hart that were auctioned at tour stops and a special event in advance of recent concerts in New York.

Organized by the voter registration organization HeadCount, the auctions benefit HeadCount, the environmental group REVERB and more than a dozen other "Dead Family" nonprofits personally selected by the band.

Five guitars featuring illustrations by poster artist AJ Masthay, each specific to a particular tour stop, have brought in $60k or more. The guitar Bob Weir played at the 6/22 Citi Field show pulled in $125k; the axe wielded in Saratoga Springs, New York, fetched a very specific $114,420.

Currently open for bidding is a D'Angelico guitar signed by the band and played by Weir at Wrigley Field on 6/10. Bidding will continue until the final set of the tour finale, in San Francisco on 7/16.

Additional signed guitars, drumheads, posters and fine art will be auctioned at upcoming stops in Boulder, Colorado, George, Washington, and San Francisco.

Fans who can’t afford to bid on a guitar can try to win one by taking action via the nonprofits on Participation Row. Those unable to attend in person can submit bids remotely by contacting HeadCount Major Gifts Director Kristina Raines at [email protected].

Dead & Company, which has run other charitable promotions tied to the tour, is donating $2 per ticket to charity.

Adding to their value, when you plug in the guitars up for auction, they automatically play "The Wheel">"Truckin'">"The Other One">"Wharf Rat">"Sugar Magnolia."