These 5 custom-painted Dead & Company D’Angelico guitars raised more than $160K in a charity auction

Dead & Company have auctioned off five customised D’Angelico Deluxe Bob Weir Bedford signature models, raising over $160,000 in the process. 

Each of the five instruments features a custom paint job from artist mister e, commemorating gigs in Boston, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles and the ‘Full Tour’.

Alongside painting, mister e used a collage technique to decorate the instruments, including scraps of Grateful Dead songbooks, Dancing Bear stamps and even selected lyrics from Truckin’.

“As an artist it's an honor to paint these guitars to raise money for a great cause,” said mister e. “But as a guitar player and fan of the Dead for years, it is truly humbling to be working with Bob Weir and Dead & Co.”

The guitar auctions – in aid of the charities HeadCount, Reverb and a variety of Dead Family Non-Profits - raised a grand total of $163,750. The ‘Full Tour’ guitar sold for the largest amount, representing almost a third of the final total, at $52,000.

For more information on the auction, head to the D’Angelico site.