“The next morning, I got an email that had a receipt for a 1957 Gibson Custom goldtop”: Jam band and Southern rock prodigy Bella Rayne was bereft when her Les Paul was stolen – then came an answer to her prayers

17-year-old Bella Rayne used to run for the hills whenever her parents played Grateful Dead records in the house. “It drove me crazy. It’s like they pushed it on me,” she says. “I liked punk rock and grunge. I even said to my mom, ‘There’s no way I am ever going to like the Grateful Dead.’”

A funny thing happened during the pandemic, however; with school and social events canceled, Rayne wandered around the house looking for something – anything – to do. One day, she discovered her mother’s old Squier Strat in the garage, and she figured she’d give it a try.

Within months, Rayne had taught herself Pearl Jam songs and started posting videos of her playing on YouTube. Local Bay Area musicians took notice and asked her to jam. Ironically, one invitation came from an all-female Grateful Dead tribute band called the China Dolls.

“I was like, ‘You’re kidding. I can’t stand the Grateful Dead!’” Rayne says. “But I decided to play with them anyway, and just like that, I felt so comfortable on stage. I discovered I actually liked the music. Before I knew it, I was improvising to songs I’d never heard before. It was incredible!”

These days, Rayne leads her own group, Bella Rayne & Friends, that mixes Southern rock and blues with lots of jam band goodness. She’s performed with heavy hitters (Melvin Seals and JGB, the Allman Betts Family Revival), and ahead of a summer tour she’ll record her debut EP with celebrated producer Narada Michael Walden (Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston).

Dear Prudence - Melvin Seals & JGB w/ Bella Rayne and Mads Tolling at Guild Theatre 9/27 - YouTube

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Recently, Rayne’s first “real guitar,” a Bourbon Burst Les Paul, was stolen after a gig in San Francisco. Heartbroken, she stayed up all night getting the word out via social media.

“The next morning, I got an email from the Grateful Guitars Foundation that had a receipt for a 1957 Custom goldtop,” she says. “I called Jack Barton from the Foundation and said, ‘I can’t accept this. I haven’t earned it.’ He was like, ‘You need to go pick it up.’ I couldn’t believe it. How remarkable! I feel like my old guitar lives on through the new one. It brings me such joy and inspiration every time I play it.”

• Find out more at Bella Rayne.