A Sotheby's fall auction offers an array of unique collectables of interest to Grateful Dead Fans. Included in the October 7-14, 2021 From the Vault: Property from the Grateful Dead and Friends online auction are a Jerry Garcia 12 string Guild Starfire guitar expected to attract a top bid between $50k and $75k, his favorite McIntosh 2300 Amp with a "Budman" sticker on it and pair of of his skull embroidered jeans. Also up for bids in the auction are equipment head honcho, roadie and Grateful Dead Production's President Lawrance "Ram Rod" Shurtliff's psychedelic jumpsuit, some of the band's equipment cases, stage used amps and equipment and select pieces from the group's massive mid 70's Wall of Sound tour sound system and stage cabinets used by Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart.  

Photos courtesy of Sotheby's

Guitar great Joe Bonamassa will release a new studio album on October 29th. Joe calls the album titled Time Clocks, "probably my most adventurous and involved record to date." Producer Kevin Shirley teamed with legendary sound man Bob Clearmountain on the project. Clearmountain credits the upcoming release as being "...one of the best albums I've mixed in years".

Thursday's (8/26) KISS concert in Burgettstown, PA was cancelled after a test confirmed that Paul Stanley contracted a breakthrough case of Covid-19. The date was just the fourth on the group's farewell tour. All members of the band and its traveling crew are fully vaccinated and most people that get the virus despite being vaccinated have mild symptoms and are only contagious for a brief time after becoming sick, but more dates on the tour are apt to get rescheduled. We pass along rapid recovery wishes to Paul.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss will release their first album together in fourteen years on November 19th.
Raise the Roof will feature a dozen tracks and include songs by The Everly Brothers, Allen Toussaint, Merle Haggard, Bert Jansch.  The pair's last album, 2007's Rising Sand collected six Grammy Awards. A 2022 tour is also in the planning.

Those more interested in Plant's musical past than his more recent projects will be more interested in the upcoming 50th anniversary Led Zeppelin documentary.  The as yet untitled doc is the first officially authorized one on the legendary group and will include recent interviews with Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones and archival interview segments with drummer John Bonham. Even Plant, who seldom expresses much enthusiasm about retrospective Zep related things, seems excited about this film being made by American Epic PBS docuseries director Bernard MacMahon, saying that viewing that "...inspired me to contribute to a very interesting and exciting story".  The film is expected to have film festival preview screenings before getting its public release.

The tributes to Charlie Watts are pouring in. This from Pete Townshend struck home for us, as Charlie was such an unassuming and sweet man who loved making music but had little time or interest in the trappings of being a famous musician in one of the world's biggest bands.

“Full Moon. Rainbow. Always a sign. Charlie Watts wept at Keith Moon’s funeral. I wish I was capable of such tears today. Instead, I just want to say goodbye. Not a rock drummer, a jazz drummer really, and that’s why the Stones swung like the Basie band!! Such a lovely man. God bless his wife and daughter, and I’ll bet the horses will miss him too.”

R.I.P. Charlie Watts. The publicist of the Rolling Stones drummer announced that Watts died peacefully in a London hospital today surrounded by his family. The 80 year old mainstay of the band had announced that he would not participate in the group's upcoming resumption of its Covid delayed No Filter tour so he could get medical treatments for throat cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2004.  Watts had been with the band since January 1963 when he left Blues Incorporated to become the Rolling Stones drummer.  Since he also had trained as a graphic designer, Watts also had a hand in the layout and design of the group's early album covers.  Charlie's 58 years behind the kit on every Stones album and tour earned him universal admiration and respect.  His early passion for jazz remained strong throughout his life and he made regular appearances at jazz clubs during breaks between Stones albums and tours.

Guitarist Rickey Medlocke has contracted Covid-19. This development comes just a couple of weeks after Gary Rossington had to leave the group's your to undergo emergency heart surgery. Alabama's guitarist is filling in for Rossington and Medlocke's symptoms have this far been mild. He is resting at home and expects to be ready to rejoin the tour soon. Four Skynyrd dates have been postponed. We wish both members rapid and full recoveries.

The Doobie Brothers will serve-up their 15th album with the October 1 release of Liberté. The group will also hit the road for an extensive 50th anniversary and Rock Hall of Fame induction year tour that will include Michael McDonald. That tour kicks-off at the Iowa State Fair on August 22 and runs through an October 29th date in Allentown, PA. The band has 2022 dates starting in Tampa on June 2nd and ending in London, Ontario on the 30th of that month. Full itinerary at thedoobiebrothers.com/events

The long delayed resumption of the Rolling Stones U.S. No Filter tour will take place without Charlie Watts. A statement from the band says the veteran drummer will sit out the tour to recuperate from an unspecified medical procedure. Watts will be replaced on the tour by Steve Jordan, drummer in Keith Richard's X-Pensive Winos band.

Some years back, Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood set out to present a series of albums paying tribute to musicians that had a big influence on him. He also staged some concerts with the same theme. The one he did at Royal Albert Hall in the fall of 2013 to honor Jimmy featured Wood with Bobby Womack, Paul Weller, Mick Hucknall and Mick Taylor, the Stones guitarist Woody replaced in 1974. Mr. Luck - A Tribute to Jimmy Reed features 18 songs recorded on November 13, 2013. It gets released on September 17th. Wood's tribute to Chuck Berry titled Mad Lad got released in 2019.