Eric Clapton Launches Major Guitar Auction to Benefit His Crossroads Centre Rehab Facility

Eric Clapton is joining forces with Heritage Auctions to host a massive sale of rare guitars and other memorabilia to raise funds for his Crossroads Centre Antigua rehab facility. The auction will take place December 8 in Dallas, while bids are being accepted online now.

The auction commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Crossroads Centre, and comes on the heels of the star-studded 2023 edition of Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, which was held September 23 and 24 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Among the many items up for bid are guitars donated and signed by Clapton and various other artists who have performed at the festival over the years, as well as such other collectible items such as books, posters, artwork, lyric sheets, vinyl LPs, musical equipment, and more.

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“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 said in a statement. “Crossroads continues to flourish, but it always needs funds to subsidize help for those who could not otherwise afford it.”

Among the many highlights of the sale is Clapton’s 2019 Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster, a guitar built by renowned luthier Todd Krause and hand-painted by Brooklyn graffiti artist John “Crash” Matos. Clapton played the instrument during the 2019 Crossroads festival in Dallas alongside John Mayer and and Peter Frampton.

Another special guitar being auctioned is a Clapton-signed metallic blue Custom Shop Stratocaster also built by Krause that Clapton played at the 2023 festival, and that he signed.

The sale also features a trio of special guitars—a custom-built “Blackie” Stratocaster built in 2007, a Gibson 70th Anniversary Les Paul, and a Martin LX1 acoustic guitar—that were autographed by Clapton and many other artists who performed at this year’s festival. Among those other stars were Sheryl Crow, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Stephen Stills, Mayer, Carlos Santana, Gary Clark Jr., The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn, H.E.R., Jimmie Vaughan, Taj Mahal, Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas, and Joe Bonamassa.

In addition, the auction includes a Fender Stratocaster that was signed by Clapton and more than a dozen other artists who performed at the Jeff Beck Tribute Concert held last May at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The sale also features signed guitars donated by Mayer, Crow, Santana, Bonamassa, Clark, Vince Gill, Steve Vai, and others.

Other memorabilia up for bid include a Marshall 1962 model Bluesbreaker replica amp signed by Clapton and Bluesbreakers band leader John Mayall; Clapton-signed lyric sheets for the songs “Let It Rain,” “Change the World,” and “Presence of the Lord”; a vinyl copy of the 1966 Blues Breakers album signed by Mayall; and copy of the out-of-print book BECK01 signed by the late Jeff Beck.

The sale also features signed guitars by a few artists who haven’t played the Crossroads Guitar Festival but still wanted to support the cause, including ex-Eagles member Don Felder, The Stray Cats’ Brian Setzer, and KISS frontman Paul Stanley.

Besides guitars and memorabilia, the auction is offering a few special music-related experiences, including a tour for two of the Martin Museum & Original Workshop in Nazareth, Pennsylvania; a tour for four of the Gibson Garage, Custom Shop and Artist Showroom in Nashville; and a private tour for six of the private vaults of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, plus a special merch package.

You can check out a full list of items being auctioned at HA.com.

Prior to the auction, a preview exhibit will go on public display at Heritage’s New York City offices from November 21-22 and again from November 27-30. Items from the auction also will be displayed by appointment only at Heritage’s headquarters in Dallas from December 4-8.

In separate Clapton news, the guitar legend has debuted a new instrumental track called “Voice of a Child” on his YouTube channel and social media sites. The song is accompanied by a heart-wrenching video showing footage and images of the devastation and destruction of Israel’s counterattack in the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack on Israel. The clip also features images of pro-Palestinian protests in various countries.

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images