“At the heart of every significant musical movement for 150 years”: Epiphone celebrates its 150th anniversary with new exhibit, featuring Noel Gallagher’s Oasis guitars

First came Epiphone’s 150th anniversary guitars; now the brand’s celebrations have been given a venue. A new exhibit – using the guitars of Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher to chart the history of the Epiphone brand – is set to open at the British Music Experience museum in the UK city of Liverpool.

The temporary exhibition is set to run from September 27, 2023 to January 14, 2024 and will feature four of Gallagher’s most-prized Epiphone models. 

Among the exhibits is an Epiphone Riviera with Bigsby, which was captured on the cover of Oasis’ debut album Definitely Maybe, another Riviera (this time in burgundy) as featured in the Don't Look Back In Anger video and an Epiphone Frontier FT110 acoustic guitar, which was used in recording of the band’s second album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory.

The brand itself will also be lending copies of some of the signature guitar builds it has completed for Gallagher over the years, including the Epiphone Supernova.

Gallagher is one of Epiphone’s most renowned endorsees, particularly in his native UK, and has long been associated with the brand, whether for his Union Jack-finished Sheraton, or taking cues from the Beatles and John Lennon in wielding a Casino.

Indeed, it was Liverpool’s most famous export that inspired Gallagher’s love of the brand in the first place, so there is a certain poetry to the fact that his guitar collection will alight, momentarily, in the Beatles’ hometown.

“I wanted to start playing Epiphones because of the Beatles,” says Gallagher. “I didn’t know anything about guitars then. They looked good; they felt good, I could make them sound good.

“I’m a songwriter, not a guitar player. You know, that’s my thing. I’m not one of those people who can sit in a guitar shop and play lots of things. I will literally play an E chord, and if it had sounded great and felt good, I would have just said, ‘Yeah, I’ll take it.’”

“Epiphone has been at the heart of every significant musical movement for 150 years and what a fitting way to celebrate by being part of this exhibition in Liverpool,” says Lee Bartram, Gibson’s Head of Commercial, Marketing and Cultural Influence EMEA. 

“The guitars on display can be heard and seen on some of the most important recordings and momentous performances from a UK artist in recent years and we would like to thank Noel Gallagher and The BME for their support in telling the story of Epiphone; we can’t wait to see what the next 150 years will bring.”

As previously mentioned, alongside the exhibit, the brand has also launched four limited-edition Epiphone 150th anniversary guitars: the Wilshire, Sheraton, Zephyr DeLuxe Regent and Crestwood Custom.

For more information on the forthcoming Epiphone and Noel Gallagher exhibit, head to the British Music Experience.