There is perhaps no stronger bond than the one between a musician and his guitar. Willie Nelson has Trigger; Jerry Garcia had Tiger. The late Grateful Dead frontman commissioned luthier Doug Irwin to design and build the guitar in 1973. He gave no instructions other than, “Don’t hold back.” On Thursday (March 12), the iconic guitar sold at auction for a staggering $11.5 million. Tiger now belongs to Bobby Tseitlin of Family Guitars, who has vowed that the instrument will “continue to be played, heard, and experienced the way [it was] meant to be.” True to his word, Tiger was back onstage a day later (Friday, March 13) with Derek Trucks of the Tedeschi Trucks Band.
Videos by American Songwriter
Derek Trucks Honors Jerry Garcia’s Legacy With “Tiger”
In 2010, Trucks founded the blues-rock group with wife Susan Tedeschi. They have released five studio albums, including their Grammy Award-winning debut, Revelator.
It was in Trucks’ capable hands that Jerry Garcia’s iconic guitar, Tiger, found its way onstage at the Beacon Theatre in New York City Friday night. The Florida-born guitar wunderkind, 46, made use of the instrument—technically the same age he is—on songs like Blind Willie McTell’s “Statesboro Blues” and Frank Zappa’s “Willie the Pimp.”
Trucks also nodded at Garcia’s legacy, segueing from John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” into “Sugaree”, a song from the late guitarist’s 1972 studio debut Garcia.
“Somewhere, Jerry is smiling!” commented one fan on TikTok. “He wouldn’t want his legendary guitar to sit idle. May it rock in qualified hands for generations to come!”
Tiger is In Good Hands
For Family Guitars, that’s exactly the point. The Chicago-based collection is adamant that it is “not a museum.”
[RELATED: 5 of the Most Expensive and Famous Guitars Sold at Auction]
“These instruments are not locked away in a vault or hidden behind glass,” reads their official website. “They are part of a living collection; guitars that continue to be played, heard, and experienced the way they were meant to be.”
Jerry Garcia’s Tiger previously belonged to businessman Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts. Following his death in May 2025 at age 65, Irsay’s sizable music memorabilia collection headed to auction at Christie’s.
Notably, Tiger was not Irsay’s most expensive artifact. David Gilmour’s “Black Strat” guitar sold for a whopping $14.5 million in New York on Thursday (March 12.)
Featured image by Jeff Hochberg/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.