News
Eric Clapton and Heritage Team Up For December 8 All-Star Guitar Auction Benefitting the Crossroads Centre Antigua
14 Nov 23
In September, Eric Clapton and an all-star roster of guitar-slingers and songwriters returned to Los Angeles for his sixth Crossroads Guitar Festival, the first in four years. Three months later, here’s the encore: Heritage’s Eric Clapton Crossroads 25th Anniversary Signature® Auction, In Aid of Crossroads Centre Antigua, which is filled with one-of-a-kind guitars, once-in-a-lifetime experiences and other rock-and-roll treasures.
All proceeds from the December 8 event, which is now open for bidding, will go to the treatment center Clapton founded in the Caribbean in 1998.
“It is now 25 years since the Crossroads Centre in Antigua opened its doors, helping thousands of men and women needing help with their addictions, including numerous people from the Caribbean, where little help was previously available,” Clapton says. “Crossroads continues to flourish, but it always needs funds to subsidize help for those who could not otherwise afford it.”
Among the music treasures offered in this auction are signature models and other personal guitars from Clapton, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, Carlos Santana, Joe Bonamassa, Gary Clark Jr., Vince Gill, John McLaughlin, Albert Lee, Steve Vai and others who have performed during Crossroads’ historic run, which began in 1999. Many others were donated by friends of Clapton’s who want to help continue the good work done by the Crossroads Centre.
One of the auction’s highlights is Clapton’s 2019 Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster, a singular instrument built by renowned Custom Shop luthier Todd Krause and hand-painted by Brooklyn graffiti artist John “Crash” Matos. Clapton played this guitar on stage at the American Airlines Center in Dallas during Crossroads 2019 while collaborating with John Mayer (on Derek and the Dominos’ “Layla”) and Peter Frampton (during the George Harrison tribute “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”) and honoring Prince with “Purple Rain.”
Also available in this auction is another Fender Custom Shop beauty, the Metallic Blue Stratocaster that Clapton played throughout the 2023 Crossroads Guitar Festival at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Signed and dated by Slowhand, this Fender was also built by Krause.
Additional centerpiece offerings include three very special instruments signed by Clapton and multiple artists who performed at this year’s fest, including the “Blackie” Stratocaster built by the Fender Custom Shop in December 2007 to commemorate that year’s festival in Chicago. This limited-edition guitar features the sunshine logo Clapton drew for Crossroads Centre Antigua. This coveted guitar trio also includes a Gibson 70th Anniversary Les Paul and a Martin LX1 Natural Acoustic.
All three guitars are signed by Clapton and more than three dozen Crossroads 2023 artists, among them: Sheryl Crow, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Stephen Stills, John Mayer, Carlos Santana, Gary Clark Jr., Jakob Dylan, the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn, H.E.R., Jimmie Vaughan, Keb’ Mo’, Taj Mahal, Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas, Joe Bonamassa, Robert Randolph, Albert Lee, Sonny Landreth, Marcus King, Pedro Martins, Daniel Santiago and a cast of all-stars.
Other highlights include a Marshall 1962 model Bluesbreakers replica amp re-screened with the Crossroads 2023 Crash graphics, signed by Clapton and fellow Bluesbreaker John Mayall; Vince Gill’s handwritten and signed lyrics for his first country chart-topper “I Still Believe in You”; and a one-of-a-kind 2019 Gibson “Flower Power” Master Artisan Collection Les Paul, which was custom-built, hand-carved and spirit-varnished by The Gibson Custom Shop and Master Artisan Rickie Hinrichsen, who began building this guitar at his luthier’s bench in the backstage Gibson Artist’s Lounge at Crossroads 2019 in Dallas.
And the hits just keep on coming, as there are also two guitars from the Vintage Room at Guitar Center’s Hollywood store, which were personally selected, played in-store, and signed by veteran mainstage artists – including a 1965 Gibson SG-Special Cherry Solid Body chosen by Gary Clark Jr. and a B.B. King Gibson “Live At The Regal” #1/100 ES-335 Semi-Hollow Body chosen by Joe Bonamassa. In addition, bluegrass virtuosos and Crossroads mainstage first-timers Sierra Hull and Molly Tuttle co-signed a Mitchell Sunburst Mandolin.
Another very important, last-minute addition to the auction is a Fender Stratocaster signed by Clapton and more than a dozen other performing artists at the Jeff Beck Tribute Concert earlier this year at the Royal Albert Hall. Additional items signed by Clapton include a one-of-one Fender Stratocaster “Crash” Prototype; lyric sheets including “Let In Rain,” “Change The World” and “Presence of the Lord”; vinyl box sets, including the six-album collection from Crossroads 2019; and the 1966 album Blues Breakers also signed by John Mayall. Genesis Publications also donated a Jeff Beck-signed copy of the out-of-print book BECK01 and a limited-edition, numbered 35/40 print of Pop Art Telecaster signed by Ronnie Wood.
There are once-in-a-lifetime musical experiences to be had here, as well: The Martin Museum & Original Workshop is offering a tour for two, including airfare and a hotel in Nazareth, PA. The Gibson Garage, Custom Shop and Artist Showroom in Nashville will provide a tour for four. And the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland has generously donated a private tour for six of its vaults, complete with a special merch package.
Bluegrass legend Del McCoury pitched in, as well, offering a pair of deluxe VIP tickets to DelFest 2024 in Cumberland, Md., while Sierra Hull is donating a VIP Tour Package that’s good for any stop along her 2024 tour and includes a meet-and-greet and signed merchandise.
And, finally, included in this auction are some beautiful signed guitars and artistic creations from friends near and far who have never played the Crossroads main stage but want to support Clapton, Crossroads and the recovery community. Former Eagles guitarist and “Hotel California” co-writer Don Felder, who played the Crossroads 2023 welcome reception, signed and donated a double-necked 2023 Epiphone EDS-1245 Don Felder Signature Model. Stray Cat Brian Setzer and KISS’ Paul Stanley donated signed signature model instruments.
“Heritage is honored to partner with Crossroads and Eric Clapton on this meaningful event,” says Aaron Piscopo, Director of Vintage Guitars & Musical Instruments at Heritage. “These are instruments owned by, played by, signed by and often designed by some of the brightest lights in rock and roll, and it’s deeply satisfying to know not only will these bring joy to their new owners, but the proceeds will continue paving the road to recovery for so many in need.”
Founded in 1998, the Crossroads Centre Antigua was created to provide treatment and education to chemically and alcohol dependent persons, their families and their significant others. Treatment is provided through residential care, family and aftercare programs. The pathway to recovery is founded on the 12 steps and a change in lifestyle. The Crossroads Centre Antigua also operates a halfway house in Antigua called Bevon House and facilitates various ongoing recovery initiatives on the island of Antigua and in the Caribbean. For more information visit https://crossroadsantigua.org/.
Highlights from Heritage’s Eric Clapton Crossroads 25th Anniversary Signature® Auction, In Aid of Crossroads Centre Antigua will be on public preview in Heritage’s New York City offices at 445 Park Avenue from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. ET on November 21-22 and November 27-30. They will also be on display by appointment only at Heritage’s world headquarters in Dallas at 2801 W. Airport Freeway from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. December 4-8.
Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam, Brussels and Hong Kong.
Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet’s most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 1,750,000 registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of more than 6,000,000 past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit.