Listen to Bobby Weir on the Al Franken show. They will talk about getting folks registered to vote, among other topics.

Please visit: http://www.headcount.org - and make sure you're registered to vote before November's election.

Weir on Al Franken Radio - 1 / 2

Bob Weir will perform with members of The National in “The Bridge Session,” a free webcast originating from Weir’s TRI Studios on March 24th.The event is produced by HeadCount, a non-profit organization that promotes voter registration and democratic participation. Weir, a former member of The Grateful Dead, serves on the organization’s Board of Directors.Mixing different musical genres, political discussion and a showcase of modern technology, the event aims to “bridge the gaps” between people of various tastes and viewpoints. The name of the event also references TRI Studios’ location 15 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge, and The National’s home base of Brooklyn and its equally famous bridge.The National’s Scott and Bryan Devendorf (bass and drums, respectively) assembled a band from within Brooklyn’s independent music scene for this one-time-only performance. Their setlist will include original songs by The Grateful Dead and The National, as well as cover songs with subtle, and not-so-subtle, political messages.Between sets, a roundtable discussion will focus on issues that potentially unify people of divergent ideological perspectives - specifically, getting money out of politics and protecting the First Amendment. Grateful Dead lyricist and activist John Perry Barlow, one of the first public figures to bring attention to the Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA), will be among the panelists. Fans watching The Bridge Session at home will be able to ask questions to Weir, Barlow and other special guests via Twitter.The performance and discussion will take place in front of an intimate studio audience of benefactors and select media. HeadCount is also giving away two tickets to attend in person via an online contest. For more information on how to enter or acquire tickets please visit www.HeadCount.org.HeadCount founder Marc Brownstein, a member of the electronic rock band The Disco Biscuits and a Brooklyn native, will serve as emcee. The band will include Brooklyn-based musicians Josh Kaufman, Thomas Bartlett, Kyle Resnick, Walt Martin, Conrad Doucette and Samuel Cohen.###About HeadCount:HeadCount is a grassroots organization that uses the power of music to register voters and raise social consciousnessn. Since 2004 we’ve staged voter registration drives at over 2,000 concerts and signed up over 175,000 voters. We reach young music fans where they already are – at concerts and online – to inform and empower. Our message is about about what party you support or where you land on an issue. It’s that you must speak to be heard.About TRI Studios:Tamalpais Research Institute is the vision of Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead. Weir and his team have built a state-of-the-art performance studio for broadcasting live HD video and audio streams directly to the Internet. Each show will be directed, filmed, and mixed live in real time. Every care will be taken to provide the highest possible upstream bandwidth to transmit high quality HD video and audio to the end user. All of this will take place in a small intimate setting in front of a live studio audience. The musicians may be playing in the domain of Mount Tamalpais, but their music will be beaming out to the entire free world.

Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead, will perform with members of Brooklyn, NY-based The National in “The Bridge Session,” a free live concert to be broadcast on Yahoo! Music originating from Weir’s TRI Studios on Saturday, March 24th.

A video preview of the event was released today. Saturday’s event will be broadcast live on Yahoo! Music and can be viewed here.

In between sets of the musical performance, political figures and activists will weigh in on topics such as getting money out of politics, protecting the First Amendment and the 2012 Presidential election. Panelists will include independent Presidential candidate Buddy Roemer, No Labels cofounder Mark McKinnon (a former media advisor to George W. Bush, John McCain, Bono and Lance Armstrong), climate change activist Jessy Tolkan, and Grateful Dead lyricist and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) cofounder John Perry Barlow.

“We’re trying to sort of stir the pot,” said Weir, who is a board member of HeadCount.org, the non-profit organization producing the event. “There are going to be some, shall we say, effervescent personalities involved in these discussions and we’re going to make it as entertaining as possible.”

Fans watching The Bridge Session from home will be able to ask questions to Weir and the featured guests via Twitter.

HeadCount, a non-partisan voter registration and civic engagement organization, put together the event in an attempt to “bridge the gaps” between different political perspectives as well as musical genres, sparking conversation that extends well beyond the three-hour webcast. The name “The Bridge Session” also references TRI Studios’ location 15 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge and The National’s home base near the Brooklyn Bridge.

“This live stream performance is sure to be historic not just for music, but also for the discourse it will ignite amongst Yahoo! Music’s 34 million monthly visitors,” said Dave DiMartino, Executive Editor of Yahoo! Music. “‘The Bridge Session’ will add to the growing list of successful live events broadcasted on Yahoo!, such as the ‘Decade of Difference’ concert celebrating Bill Clinton’s 65th birthday, Bill Maher’s live comedy stand up performance, ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Twilight’ red-carpet events and more.”

Weir will be backed by an ensemble that includes The National’s Scott and Bryan Devendorf and their bandmate Aaron Dessner, along with many longtime friends from Brooklyn’s vibrant independent music scene: Thomas “Doveman” Bartlett and Kyle Resnick, both frequent collaborators of The National, Walt Martin of The Walkmen, Conrad Doucette of Takka Takka, and Sam Cohen and Josh Kaufman of the Yellowbirds. Kaufman is also the event’s musical director. HeadCount founder Marc Brownstein, a member of the electronic rock band The Disco Biscuits and a Brooklyn native, will serve as emcee.

About HeadCount:

HeadCount is a non-partisan grassroots organization that uses the power of music to register voters and raise social consciousness. Since 2004, HeadCount has staged voter registration drives at over 2,000 concerts and signed up over 175,000 voters. Headcount reaches young music fans where they already are – at concerts and online – to inform and empower. The message is not about what party one supports -- it’s that you must speak to be heard.

About TRI Studios:

Tamalpais Research Institute is the vision of Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead. Weir and his team have built a state-of-the-art performance studio for broadcasting live HD video and audio streams directly to the Internet. Each show is directed, filmed, and mixed live in real time. Every care will be taken to provide the highest possible upstream bandwidth to transmit high quality HD video and audio. The musicians and panelists may be playing and speaking in the domain of Mount Tamalpais, but their music and thoughts will be streaming to the entire free world.

What’s more American than rock n’ roll and democracy? Well, a few lucky young people are getting a healthy dose of both this summer, taking “The Great American Road Trip” to register voters at Dave Matthews Band, Wilco, Phish and Furthur concerts across the country.

Their trek, organized by the nonpartisan voter registration organization HeadCount, will collectively cover over 15,000 miles and 103 concerts, and help tens of thousands of people register to vote.

A separate team of 2-4 volunteers is assigned to each band, traveling to nearly every concert on the respective tours. In each city, they’ll be joined by up to 10 local volunteers who will help register voters and then get to enjoy an evening of music. Anyone 18 years of age or older can sign up to volunteer at www.HeadCount.org. In all, over 1,000 people will participate in this nationwide voter registration campaign.

The HeadCount team is traveling to each Dave Matthews Band show in a Volkswagen Routan minivan – and filing dispatches from the road on the HeadCount blog. Volkswagen of America, Inc. and Dave Matthews Band’s Bama Works Fund are covering all the volunteers’ travel costs.

HeadCount set an all-time record for a single concert tour when they registered 12,161 voters with Dave Matthews Band in 2004. That year, turnout by voters age 18 to 24 jumped 11 percent. It was by far the largest increase among any age group. In 2008 that trend continued, with young voters being the only age group to show an increase in turnout.

However, it will take some work if that trend is to continue. A recent Wall Street Journal poll found that only 43 percent of young voters said they were very interested in the Presidential election, compared to 65 percent in a poll taken at the same time of year in 2008. Another poll by Gallup said that only 56 percent of registered voters under the age of 30 plan to cast their ballot in November.

One of the best ways to increase voter turnout is by welcoming new voters into the democratic process. In 2008, over 72 percent of the voters registered by HeadCount turned out to vote, according to an independent study by the Washington, D.C.-based New Organizing Institute. That same study said that over 4 million votes were cast that year by individuals who registered to vote through independent groups like HeadCount.

In addition to registering voters, HeadCount works with musicians to help make the election more culturally relevant. Furthur’s Bob Weir – a member of HeadCount’s board of directors and a founding member of The Grateful Dead – recently performed a free webcast on Yahoo! Music that included a roundtable political discussion between sets of music. He was joined by members of the Brooklyn, NY-based band The National, another artist that has encouraged its fans to be politically active.

Social media also represents a burgeoning opportunity to engage young people around voting and issues that are important to them. HeadCount just launched a specialized Facebook “app” that allows any user to complete a voter registration application online.

A concert tour organized to encourage voter turnout has taken on a new dimension in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Organizers Magic Hat Brewing Co., CEG Presents and HeadCount announced today that all proceeds from the  four city “Participation Tour” will be donated to the Red Cross and other storm relief efforts.The tour begins Friday in Baltimore, followed by stops in Philadelphia on Saturday and Washington, D.C, on Sunday. Then on “Election Eve,” Monday Nov. 5th, an All-Star event in New York will feature special guests Questlove, Bela Fleck, Amy Helm, Eric Krasno, Luther Dickinson and Scott Metzger.Anders Osborne and Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, all residents of New Orleans and no stranger to hurricanes, will headline each of the four shows. Keller Williams will make a guest appearance in Washington, and John Kadlecik of Furthur will appear in Baltimore and DC. Tickets are available at Nolafunk.com/Nola“Participation is about more than voting. It means being an active part of a community,” said HeadCount’s executive director Andy Bernstein. “We hope these concerts will not only encourage people to vote, but also serve as a conduit for us to be the best citizens we can be.”A limited edition Magic Hat guitar signed by the performers will be raffled at each show, with every dollar raised going directly to the relief efforts. To enter the raffle, fans will be asked to sign a "Pledge to Vote" and donate any amount they wish. At the tour finale on Nov 5th, a guitar signed by all the performing artists will also be available via silent auction.

The Capitol Theatre has set aside its very best seats for a charitable program to send area schoolteachers to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland for a week of intensive curriculum training. Concertgoers can bid on the coveted Presidential Box—four seats directly overlooking the stage—for most events at the historic Theatre, including recent performances by B.B. King, The Black Crowes, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Drive-By Truckers, Phish's Trey Anastasio, and Furthur's 9-show sold-out run kicking off this week. Proceeds from each Box auction will directly fund scholarships to the Rock Hall's Summer Teacher Institute.The scholarships are part of the "Capitol Community" program that the Theatre runs in partnership with the non-profit organization HeadCount and are open to fulltime educators at accredited learning institutions in Westchester (NY) and Fairfield (CT) counties. Winners will be awarded the full cost of tuition, and in some cases also have their travel and lodging costs covered. Additional funds from the auctions will also be directed to charities selected by artists appearing at the Cap. "Each Presidential Box auction is a chance for an individual to directly support education in the area," says HeadCount executive director Andy Bernstein. "And by bringing rock history into classrooms, we’ll be opening kids’ minds in a whole new way.” More information, including a list of current auctions and the scholarship application, can be found at http://www.thecapitoltheatre.com/capitolcommunity. The deadline for applications is May 20.The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Summer Teacher Institute, held in Cleveland July 8-12, helps K-12 and post-secondary educators learn how to effectively use rock and roll to teach across multiple disciplines. Educators learn how to connect popular music to their own classroom curricula – from the history of hip-hop to the science of sound – by creating new and exciting learning environments that can help meet the needs of all students, no matter their level or learning style."[It's] one of our longest-running programs," explains Rock and Roll Hall of Fame President and CEO Greg Harris. "It provides teachers with essential resources in a dynamic learning environment. This fantastic community initiative by the Capitol Theatre, which has such a storied place in rock history, allows us to extend our mission of educating students and teachers." More information can be found at www.rockhall.com/teacher/summer-teacher-institute."Since my career in live music began at Wetlands, a venue that placed the combination of social awareness and the live music experience at the heart of its mission, it's been really important to me to continue that tradition," says Capitol Theatre owner Peter Shapiro. "This partnership with HeadCount and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a great continuation of what Wetlands was all about: combining the fun of live music with doing something that will have a positive and lasting impact long after the show is over."###About The Capitol Theatre:Designed by celebrated architect Thomas Lamb in 1926 and listed in The National Register of Historic Places, the theatre is located approximately 30 miles from NYC, conveniently accessible by I-95 and only one block from the Port Chester Metro North train station. In its distinguished history, the 1,835-capacity theatre has hosted concerts by the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Derek and the Dominos, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, David Bowie, Santana, Black Sabbath, Iggy Pop, and many more. Following a transformative renovation under the guidance of music entrepreneur Peter Shapiro (Brooklyn Bowl, Wetlands, Relix, U2 3D), the theatre reopened as a rock palace on Sep 4, 2012, with a performance by Bob Dylan and has since hosted everyone from Al Green and My Morning Jacket to Sleigh Bells and Morrissey. The New York Times raved, "a rock theater that looks and sounds as good as the Capitol is something to celebrate," while Billboard agreed that "the lavishly decorated theater -- filled with mirrors, chandeliers and painstakingly restored detail -- looks absolutely stunning, and sounds even better."About HeadCount:HeadCount unleashes the power of musicians and fans to make a difference. Since 2004 we have registered over 250,000 voters, and motivated millions to be informed, vocal citizens. We turn the power of musicians, the passion of fans and the hard work of volunteers into organized efforts to drive participation. We make it easy for people to get behind things they believe in, so that the next generation of music fans will shape the future.

Wilco, Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, Gov’t Mule and The String Cheese Incident are among a long list of musicians showing support for the non-profit organization HeadCount by offering VIP tickets, autographed merchandise, and some quality time.

Special experience packages are available via online auctions at http://bit.ly/hcauctions. An exclusive, private event with Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, and Grace Potter will also be held at the Gathering of the Vibes festival. Info and tickets can be found at: http://gatheringofthevibes.com/headcount-vip

In addition, festivals like Mountain Jam, Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, High Sierra, Camp Bisco and, All Good are pitching in to HeadCount’s fundraising efforts on multiple fronts.

HeadCount registered over 100,000 voters last year, and will visit more than a dozen festivals in 2013. At each festival, HeadCount volunteers will register voters and help fans “SoundOff” at Congress by tweeting photo messages at elected officials.

Here are some of the ways you can support that work:

Meet Grace Potter in person at Gathering of the Vibes 2013 and see her set from the pit (in front of the stage)! Tickets include a special dinner in artist catering. Get tickets to this one-of-a-kind VIP event by clicking here. (Note: Weekend tickets that include the chance to meet Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi are sold out).

Enjoy two tickets to Mountain Jam in Hunter, NY, AND take home a limited edition poster signed by all the members of Widespread Panic and Gov’t Mule! Check out the full package here.

Electric Forest Festival is offering up two “Good Life” camping tickets (VIP). PLUS, The String Cheese Incident’s Michael Kang will take a golf cart ride with the winner. See here to bid.

Dave Matthews Band has graciously given HeadCount tickets and lounge passes for a handful of shows on this summer’s tour. These tickets are prime seats and the exclusive lounge passes come with complimentary food and drink. See dates here and get the ultimate DMB experience.

Get two general admission tickets to Bonnaroo AND see Wilco perform from the side of the Main Stage. The package also comes with an autographed 7’ vinyl of Wilco’s single I Might, signed by the entire band. For more information on this package, or to bid, click here.

You can support HeadCount just by showing up to Camp Bisco. For the sixth-straight year, the promoters are donating 50 cents from the sale of every ticket. You can get your tix  here. More info will be announced about HeadCount’s activity at Camp Bisco in the coming weeks.

HeadCount still has the best way for you to see a show at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY and it’s all for a good cause! Check out upcoming auctions for the Capitol Community and get the absolute best seats in the house.

Look for announcements involving more artists and festivals in the days to come.

About HeadCount:

HeadCount unleashes the power of musicians and fans to make a difference. Since 2004 we have registered over 250,000 voters, and motivated millions to be informed, vocal citizens. We turn the power of musicians, the passion of fans and the hard work of volunteers into organized efforts to drive participation. We make it easy for people to get behind things they believe in, so that the next generation of music fans will shape the future.

Bob Weir and RatDog will join a slew of guest musicians at the HeadCount 10th Anniversary Benefit Concert at the Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, NY on June 4th. The event will also be the official Kickoff Party for Mountain Jam, a festival that begins the next day at Hunter Mountain in upstate New York and runs through the weekend.

HeadCount founder Marc Brownstein of The Disco Biscuits, Brendan Bayliss of Umphrey’s McGee, Eric Krasno of Soulive and Lettuce, and Lettuce horn players Ryan Zoidis and Eric Bloom will all make appearances, with more special guests to be announced.

Qello, the world’s leading on-demand streaming service for full-length HD concert films and music documentaries, will be the exclusive presenting sponsor of the event, with Grain Audio, iCitizen, Mashable, Apple and Eve and Ticketfly also serving as sponsors.

Tickets go on sale to the public on Tuesday April 22nd at noon at BrooklynBowl.com. An exclusive pre-sale for Mountain Jam ticketholders and friends of official event hosts begins today. More information can be found at www.HeadCount.org/benefit.

“It’s going to be big fun,” said Weir, one of HeadCount’s founding board members. “It’s always great to collaborate with other musicians, and HeadCount’s tenth anniversary is a true reason to celebrate.”

Less than 24 hours after the concert, the tenth annual Mountain Jam will begin at Hunter Mountain. Weir and Ratdog will appear on Friday, June 6th, and Umphrey’s McGee will perform Thursday the 5th. Other performers include The Allman Brothers Band, Gov’t Mule, Pretty Lights, The Avett Brothers and The Tedeschi Trucks Band. The full lineup and ticket information can be found at www.MountainJam.com.

HeadCount’s mission is to promote participation in democracy through the power of music. The organization has registered over 300,000 voters since its inception, working with artists such as Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Wilco and Jay-Z. In 2012 HeadCount registered more voters than any organization with a budget of less than $1 million, and helped create “National Voter Registration Day,” the largest one-day voter registration drive ever.

“When we started HeadCount, we had big dreams,” said Brownstein. “But to be totally honest, we didn’t know if it would last more than a year, much less ten. So this feels like an incredible accomplishment.”

Qello previously partnered with HeadCount at the Lockn’ Festival, co-presenting the “Participation Row” non-profit village. Richard Johnson, Qello's Co-founder says, “We’re excited to join HeadCount in celebrating its 10th anniversary and proud to be associated with an organization that has music and empowerment at its core."

Brooklyn Bowl has hosted several HeadCount events in the past, including benefit concerts with the Radiators and The Disco Biscuits. “HeadCount has been part of the Brooklyn Bowl family since the day we opened our doors,” said venue founder Peter Shapiro, also a HeadCount board member and one of the official hosts of the event.  “So it’s fitting that the 10th Anniversary show is here.”

TourGigs.com will be streaming a FREE webcast of the HeadCount 10th Anniversary Benefit Concert at 8:30 ET on Wednesday June 4th.Bob Weir & RatDog will be joined by HeadCount co-chair Marc Brownstein (The Disco Biscuits), Brendan Bayliss (Umphrey’s McGee), Eric Krasno (Soulive) and the Lettuce horns section for the celebration at Brooklyn Bowl in New York City.Tickets for the event sold out in 35 minutes, but TourGigs.com will stream the entire concert at no charge to viewers.Time: 8:30 PM ET to MidnightDate: Wednesday, June 4thLocation on the Web: TourGigs.com or http://bit.ly/HC10webcastHeadCount is a non-partisan organization that works with musicians to promote participation in democracy. In the past 10 years it has registered over 300,000 voters at more than 3,000 concerts.The free webcast was made possible by the support of presenting sponsor Qello Concerts, the world’s largest library of on-demand concert DVD’s and music documentaries.

Ever-popular rock poster artist Jim Pollock has designed a limited-edition postcard that the non-profit organization HeadCount will distribute at Phish concerts this summer.To receive a free postcard, fans just need to stop by the HeadCount table and sign a “Pledge to Vote” on the back. Then, in November, HeadCount will mail each person their postcard with their own signature as a reminder of their commitment to vote.The Pollock postcard depicts voters racing bicycles to the polls under the phrase “#GoVote.”“It’s the red against the blue jerseys,” Pollock explained, in an interview that appears on HeadCount.Org. I’m pretty up-front about my political beliefs, but I like to see a good race. I’d like to see both parties thrive and have more parity.”David Welker, who illustrated the cover art for Phish’s Rift album, also designed a #GoVote postcard, available at HeadCount tables at various concerts. Rock poster artists AJ Masthay, TRIPP, Gwen AP, Jamie Hunstsman and tattoo artist Luke Wessman created postcards in the series as well.Each postcard is limited to one print run and will not be re-printed. When completing the pledge, fans are entered into a drawing for a free trip on Jam Cruise or one of many other destination concert vacations from Cloud 9 Adventures.In addition, they can download  the iCitizen smartphone app (via a QR code), which lists the voting records of elected officials and other information that makes it easy to be an  informed voter.Studies have shown that “Pledge to Vote” postcards bearing a voter’s signature help increase voter turnout. This, however, is the first time anyone has used limited-edition artwork from rock poster artists on voter pledge postcards.“It will be a great reminder to hang on your fridge,” said HeadCount executive director Andy Bernstein. “It’s a reminder of Phish tour, and a reminder of your pledge to vote.”He said the Pollock postcards will initially only be available at Phish concerts, but if any are left over they will be distributed at festivals or concerts by other bands.The #GoVote series began in 2012 in a Tumblr campaign involving work by hundreds of artists. This year, HeadCount is adding the element of postcards, as well as musicians posting for photos with the #GoVote artwork. The campaign will culminate on Election Day, when hundreds of musicians and entertainers post their photos on social media. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of fans will receive their postcards in the mail that week.

On Election Day, more than 300 entertainers will partner with HeadCount.org in a massive get-out-the-vote push, posting photos of themselves to social media urging their fans to “#GoVote.” The campaign specifically aims to combat the trend of “drop-off” voters, where half of young voters only cast ballots in Presidential races and then skip the Midterm Elections.

A diverse group of musicians, comics and actors - including Stephen Colbert, Dave Matthews, Linkin Park, Sarah Silverman, Fergie, George Lopez, Jason Mraz, T.I., Lewis Black, Chaka Khan, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Ms. Lauryn Hill, all the living members of The Grateful Dead,  Andy Richter and Conan O’Brien - have taken photos while holding artwork that says “#GoVote.” Each will Tweet and post their photos on Tuesday, saturating social media with a get-out-the-vote message.

The 303 entertainers involved average over one million social media followers each across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, totalling more than 350 million. The number of participants and their popularity makes #GoVote one of the largest Election Day social media efforts ever.

VIEW CELEBRITY PHOTOS AHEAD OF ELECTION DAY HERE: http://on.fb.me/10qFzRM

Each post on Twitter, Facebook, Instragram and Tumblr will include a link tohttp://www.headcount.org/govote/, where voters can find the most comprehensive election information hub on the internet - including a polling place finder, ID requirements, and what’s on each ballot.

“The incumbent Congress is the least popular in history, so we can't leave it to the candidates alone to inspire people,” said Marc Brownstein, HeadCount’s co-founder and bass player in The Disco Biscuits. “We're trying to get the message across that being dissatisfied is a bad reason not to vote –it's the exact reason why participation is so important."

The campaign is part of a broader #GoVote effort that includes multiple organizations and hundreds of works by visual artists, featured on the partner website www.govote.org. HeadCount curated art from several top rock poster artists for the musicians and entertainers to pose with.

Some of the more compelling photos include: Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, appearing with comic Nick Offerman and Tweedy’s son Spencer (who just turned 18 and is eligible to vote for the first time);Jack Johnson standing in front of an ocean, holding artwork that says “#GoVote - Eat Local. Shop Local. Vote Local,” and media mogul Russell Simmons, with art from tattoo artist Luke Wessman.

VIEW NICK OFFERMAN’S PHOTO FOR HEADCOUNT.ORG HERE: https://www.facebook.com/HeadCountOrg/photos/a.10152443082621279.1073741888.8382221278/10152468754781279/?type=1&theater

This campaign follows HeadCount’s highly successful social media push on National Voter Registration Day in September, involving many of the same entertainers. Through that effort and by setting up voter registration drives at 705 live music events, HeadCount registered more than 25,000 voters for this election.

Members of Grateful Dead have selected 16 charities to be beneficiaries of their upcoming “Fare Thee Well” 50th anniversary concerts, with the band releasing more than 300 tickets via a series of auctions on eBay Giving Works to benefit the organizations. The auctions will begin at 9 a.m. PST / noon EST on Wednesday, May 27 (today).

Fans looking to see the sold-out concerts can visit eBay.com/FareTheeWell where they will find pairs of tickets for each show, including reserved and general admission floor seating. Bidding starts at the face value of the tickets. A new set of tickets will be released every two days through the end of June, with all net proceeds split among the chosen charities.

Grateful Dead original members Mickey Hart,  Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir,  will be joined by Trey Anastasio, Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti for the performances to celebrate the Grateful Dead’s 50th Anniversary in Santa Clara, CA (June 27 - 28) and Chicago, IL (July 3 - 5).

“We are eager to support these charities - some of whom have been staples of our community for decades - while also giving fans another opportunity to obtain tickets,” members of the Grateful Dead said in a statement.

Beneficiaries of the ticket auction include longtime Grateful Dead-affiliated charities like The Rex Foundation, The Unbroken Chain Foundation, The Rainforest Action Network, SEVA and HeadCount.

Each of the organizations will also have a presence at the concerts in a designated area called “Participation Row,” giving fans an opportunity to interact with the charities and celebrate the history of Grateful Dead philanthropy.

Other activities in Participation Row will include a silent auction for a one-of-a-kind D’Angelico commemorative guitar signed by all the performers, a food drive from the hunger organization Conscious Alliance, and the distribution of free, limited edition Fare Thee Well postcards illustrated by longtime Grateful Dead poster artists.

HeadCount, a non-profit organization best known for its work registering voters, is organizing both Participation Row and the ticket auction. More information can be found at www.HeadCount.org/ParticiapationRow.

Other Participation Row charities include: Surfrider, The Owsley Stanley Foundation, The Hidden Wings School, Love Hope, Strength, REVERB, Oxfam, Represent.US, The Multidisciplinary Association for the Study of Psychedelics and Rock the Earth.

About HeadCount

HeadCount unleashes the power of musicians and fans to make a difference. Since 2004 we have registered over 300,000 voters, and motivated millions to be informed, vocal citizens. We turn the power of musicians, the passion of fans and the hard work of volunteers into organized efforts to drive participation. We make it easy for people to get behind things they believe in, so that the next generation of music fans will shape the future.

About eBay Giving Works

Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is a global commerce platform and payments leader connecting millions of buyers and sellers. As eBay helps to drive the next generation of commerce, they believe in the power of their employees, technologies and global networks to also enable positive social and environmental change in the world. Integrated into eBay's regular buying and selling platform, eBay Giving Works is a program that allows fundraising for nonprofits and fundraising for charity. The eBay Giving Works program is part of a portfolio of programs, resources, and tools across eBay Inc. that are intended to enable and inspire online charity donations at a scale never seen before. Learn more at givingworks.ebay.com

HeadCount, a non-partisan, non-profit organization with a mission to promote participation in democracy through the power of musicians and their music, and D’Angelico Guitars, an iconic New York City guitar brand, will be auctioning off a one-of-a-kind, commemorative D’Angelico guitar signed by original Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and Bob Weir at the upcoming ‘Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of Grateful Dead’ concerts in Santa Clara and Chicago.  All proceeds from the silent auction will benefit seventeen non-profit organizations selected by the Grateful Dead.    

The commemorative guitar, which will also be signed by Fare Thee Well performers Trey Anastasio, Bruce Hornsby, and Jeff Chimenti, features custom ‘Fare Thee Well’ graphics and is one of just a few items the Grateful Dead will be signing at the band’s final shows.  Attendees will have the opportunity to view and bid on the guitar and the other signed items in a silent auction at “Participation Row,” a dedicated area at each concert for fans to interact with the band-selected charities. 

“The signed guitar will be a unique piece of music history,” said Andy Bernstein, executive director of HeadCount.  “It’s a great way to raise funds for charities that have been an integral part of the Grateful Dead community for decades.”

“We are thrilled to be a part of this celebration in honor of the Grateful Dead,” said Brenden Cohen, CEO of D’Angelico Guitars.  “Our custom Fare Thee Well guitar will be benefitting a number of organizations that are important to Mickey, Bill, Phil, and Bob, and that’s something very special.”

 The Participation Row charity auction will be located near Section 101 at Levi’s Stadium for the Santa Clara concerts taking place June 27^th-June 28^th, and near Section 117 at Soldier Field for the Chicago concerts taking place July 3^rd-July 5^th.  More information can be found at www.headcount.org/ParticipationRow

Fans attending the Grateful Dead 50th Anniversary concerts can take home a set of four limited-edition Fare Thee Well postcards, distributed for free in the “Participation Row” area at Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara, CA, June 27th & 28th) and Soldier Field (Chicago, July 3rd - 5th).

To receive a postcard, fans just need to visit one of 17 non-profit organizations who have info tables on Participation Row, and take a designated “action.” Collectively, the actions are dubbed the “17 Ways Deadheads Can Change the World. ” They include things like writing letters to elected officials, posting photos to social media or signing up to be an organ donor.

A full list of the 17 actions, with links to each organization, can be found at www.headcount.org/17Actions. HeadCount, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding civic participation through the power of music, organized Participation Row and the giveaway.

“We want to give Deadheads an easy way to be active citizens while at the shows,” said Andy Bernstein, executive director of HeadCount. “Beautiful, collectable art seemed like an appropriate reward for fans who have always had a strong connection to the artwork and causes that sprung up around the band."

For $1, HeadCount representatives will stamp and mail any postcard, creating a great way for fans to share the Fare Thee Well experience with friends who could not be there in person.

The postcards were designed by renowned artists Mike DuBois, Jeff Trohldahl and Una Toibin all of whom have worked with members of the Grateful Dead or their affiliates in the past. The collection also includes work by Jessica Muessen, whose beautifully decorated envelope sent in to order Fare Thee Well tickets by mail was seen by millions on the Internet.

Only 2,500 of each postcard will be available (10,000 total), so fans are encouraged to arrive early and visit Participation Row well before the music begins each night. If all the postcards are distributed, it means exactly 10,000 socially-conscious actions will have been taken.

The four postcards celebrate four different themes of Grateful Dead philanthropy - “Freedom,” “Compassion,” “Stewardship” and “Community.”

Participation Row will be at all five Fare Thee Well concerts. In Santa Clara, you can visit the non-profits at the north end of the stadium near Intel Gate A as well as under the stairs to the 700 level. In Chicago, visit the South Courtyard near gates 0-6. In both cities there will also be a silent auction featuring the only items signed by the Grateful Dead and their guest performers during the concerts. More information can be found at www.HeadCount.org/ParticipationRow.

A one-of-a-kind Fare Thee Well commemorative guitar was auctioned for $526,000 during intermission of the Grateful Dead's July 5th concert in Chicago, benefiting 17 charities tied to the band. The D'Angelico EX-DC guitar was played on stage by the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir on June 28th, and was signed by the four living original members of the group and the three guest performers.

For more information contact HeadCount Executive Director Andy Bernstein at [email protected].

D’Angelico Guitars and HeadCount have teamed up to design a set of custom LOCKN’ guitars that will be signed by musicians and then donated to charity. Dubbed the “LEGENDARY LOCKN’ GUITARS,” these one-of-a-kind instruments are expected to be signed by most LOCKN’ headliners -- a list that includes Robert Plant, members of the Grateful Dead, Santana, Widespread Panic and many more.

One guitar will be auctioned at LOCKN’ to support the 22 charitable organizations that form the “Participation Row” non-profit village. A second guitar will be given away through a free raffle to encourage fans to visit Participation Row.

HeadCount, a non-profit organization that promotes civic participation through the power of music, is the organizer of Participation Row and the charity auction. D’Angelico is the official guitar partner of LOCKN’ and HeadCount.

The LOCKN’ guitar auction and giveaway comes on the heels of the highly successful Grateful Dead 50th Anniversary concerts, where D’Angelico and HeadCount auctioned a signed, custom guitar for $526,000 to benefit various Grateful Dead-affiliated charities.

At LOCKN’, guitar and poster auctions raised over $100,000 for the Participation Row charities in the festival’s first two years. The addition of the D’Angelico custom guitars will make the auction even more legendary, said Andy Bernstein, executive director of HeadCount. “When you have an iconic and historic guitar brand like D’Angelico involved, magic seems to happen,” he said.

Brendan Cohen, CEO of D’Angelico Guitars, is also excited for this opportunity. "We were ecstatic to be involved with The Grateful Dead's 50th Anniversary shows and proud to see the impact that the auctioned customized guitars had on such great charities. Now, in partnering with LOCKN', we're looking forward to making another meaningful contribution,” said Cohen.

The auction and free raffle will be held at the Qello Concerts Lounge on Participation Row, in the main concert field at LOCKN’. Qello is the title sponsor of Participation Row for the third straight year.

Organizations benefiting from the auctions include Conscious Alliance, DanceSafe, Habitat for Humanity, LOVE HOPE STRENGTH, and  NORML, as well as various local groups like  Appalachian Voices, the Blue Ridge Medical Center, the Lynchburg Humane Society, Nelson County Tourism, the Rockfish Valley Foundation, the Thomas Jefferson Center for Free Expression, United Plant Savers, and Wild Virginia.

In addition to organizing Participation Row, HeadCount will be registering voters and demonstrating the iCitizen civic engagement smart-phone application.

The LOCKN’ Music Festival will take place in Arrington, VA from September 10th through September 13th.

A half-dozen charities will be making an appearance at the Dead & Company concerts at Madison Square Garden this weekend, part of the “Participation Row” social action area organized by the non-profit group HeadCount.

To support the charities, instrument makers D’Angelico and Remo donated custom-made Dead & Co. items to be signed by the band and auctioned in select cities on the tour. Similar items generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in Participation Row auctions at the Lockn’ festival and the Grateful Dead 50th Anniversary concerts. A signed D’Angelico guitar sold for an eye-popping $526,000 at the final Grateful Dead concert in Chicago in July.

The next installment of Participation Row will be staged in the Madison Square Garden concourse outside sections 108 to 118. Concert-goers will be invited to visit any of the organizations and take socially conscious actions such as registering to vote, joining the bone-marrow donation registry, or petitioning for tighter environmental regulations. For every action completed, the attendee’s name will be entered into a raffle to win a Dead & Company tour poster signed by the band.

The organizations featured on Participation Row will include the Rex Foundation a charitable non- profit established by members of the Grateful Dead in 1983, the bone marrow donor screening organization Love Hope Strength, environmental groups Reverb and Mom’s Clean Air Force, the Multidisciplinary Associations for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), and HeadCount, which specializes in voter registration and civic engagement through music.

Dead & Company is a new collaboration that includes Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann. They are joined by singer-songwriter and guitarist John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge of the Allman Brothers and Aquarium Rescue Unit, and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti of RatDog and Furthur. Dead & Company’s first nationwide tour kicks off in Albany on October 29th and culminates with a New Year’s Eve show in Los Angeles.

With Dead & Company getting rave reviews across the Northeast, Bob Weir continued a relatively-new tradition of playing a signed guitar on stage to help boost a charity auction. 

Last night at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA, Weir played “Peggy-O” with a D’Angelico guitar signed by all the members of Dead & Company. The one-of-a-kind EX-SS guitar, which also features the Dead & Company logo on its pick guard, is being auctioned on the tour to benefit more than a half-dozen charities. Currently, the high bid sits at $11,500.

The guitar is now “Truckin’, up to Buffalo,” and will be on display and open for bidding tonight on the concourse at the First Niagara Center, and then will continue across the country with stops in Columbus, OH, Greensboro, NC, Atlanta, GA and more. HeadCount, a non-profit organization that promotes civic engagement and voter registration through music, organized the auction and is bringing it to most cities on the Dead & Company tour. The person with the highest bid by the end of the tour – from any city – will become the guitar’s proud owner.

Weir first played a D’Angelico guitar on stage during the Grateful Dead's Fare Thee Well shows last summer. That guitar sold at auction for $526,000, making it the 18th most expensive guitar ever sold and netting nearly $30,000 each for 17 different charities. Weir then played a similar guitar on stage at the Lockn’ Festival in Virginia in September, which fetched $65,000 in an auction. He also has been playing two other D’Angelico guitars regularly throughout the Dead & Company tour. 

The auction will benefit the organizations that were part of “Participation Row,” a social action village put together by HeadCount at the band’s recent Madison Square Garden concerts, and other charities invited by the band.  The beneficiaries include the Rex Foundation a charity established by members of the Grateful Dead in 1983; Love Hope Strength;  a bone marrow donor screening organization, the Multidisciplinary Associations for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS); the Hawai’i Alliance for Progressive Action (HAPA); the environmental groups Mom’s Clean Air Force and Rock the Earth; and Reverb, which is running the greening efforts for the Dead & Company tour.

The auction also features a signed Dead & Company Remo drumhead, and a signed tour poster.

Dead & Company is a new collaboration that includes Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann. They are joined by singer-songwriter and guitarist John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge of the Allman Brothers and Aquarium Rescue Unit, and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti of RatDog and Furthur. Dead & Company’s first nationwide tour kicked off in Albany on Oct. 29th and culminates with a New Year’s Eve show in Los Angeles.

Founded in 1932 in New York City, D’Angelico Guitars is a world-renowned designer and builder of high-quality guitars and bass guitars.

Want to have lunch with the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir at his Sweetwater Music Hall in California? Or with the Disco Biscuits bassist Marc Brownstein in Philadelphia? How about breaking bread with former White House Chief-of-Staff Peter Rouse in Washington DC, or music entrepreneur Peter Shapiro in New York? They are all members of the board of directors of the non-profit voter registration organization HeadCount, and they’ll be sitting down for private lunches with supporters of the cause.

Visit www.HeadCount.org/lunch for more information or to bid.

Each HeadCount board member is participating in the CharityBuzz.com “Executive Lunch” series, which lets anyone bid on having lunch with a top leader in business or—in this case—politics and music. Other heavy hitters on the board include Andrew Dreskin, founder of the ticketing service Ticketfly that was just acquired by Pandora; former White House aide and current VICE Media COO Alyssa Mastromonaco; SiriusXM DJs Stef Scamardo and Jonathan Schwartz; Bonnaroo co-founder Rich Goodstone; and John McCrea—front man of the band CAKE and founder of the Content Creators Coalition.

The bidding runs through December 2nd and starts at just $200 for each auction - barely the cost of a nice business lunch!

This is the first time HeadCount has run a lunch-series auction with its Board of Directors. “HeadCount is lucky to have a board filled with successful people from all walks of life, be it music, or finance, or politics” said HeadCount Executive Director Andy Bernstein. “Every time I meet with our board I am blown away at their knowledge, insight and most of all, their warmth. We felt like this would be a great opportunity to share their expertise with the world, and raise a little dough.”

Below is the complete list of HeadCount’s board members participating in the lunch series.

·         Peter Bahouth - Stereoscopic Photographer, Environmentalist

·         Diane Blagman - Senior Director of Governmental Affairs, Greenberg Traurig

·         Nicole Boxer - Emmy Award Winning Documentarian

·         Marc Brownstein - Bassist, The Disco Biscuits

·         Andrew Dreskin - Co-Founder of Ticketfly

·         Andy Gadiel - JamBase.com Co-Founder

·         Rich Goodstone - Co-Founder of Superfly Presents and Bonnaroo

·         Gordon H. Hensley - DC-Based Communications Strategist

·         Patrick Jordan - Day-to-Day Manager of Phish and Dave Matthews Band

·         Ben Levin - Manager of Wilco and Lucius

·         Jonathan Levine - Head of Nashville Office, Paradigm Agency

·         David Margulies - Co-Producer of High Sierra Festival

·         Alyssa Mastromonaco - COO of VICE Media

·         John McCrea - Founding member of CAKE

·         Nadia Prescher - Co-Founder of Madison House

·         Peter Rouse - Perkins Coie LLP, former White House Chief-of-Staff

·         Stef Scamardo - DJ at SiriusXM JamOn, Manager of Warren Haynes, The Revivalists

·         Jonathan Schwartz -  DJ at SiriusXM JamOn

·         Peter Shapiro - Independent Music and Film Entrepreneur

·         Steve Simon - Simon Equity Partners

·         Ami Spishock - Manager of Grizzly Bear, The War on Drugs and Beirut

·         Don Strasburg - VP & Senior Talent Buyer for AEG Rocky Mountains

·         Jessy Tolkan - Director, Campaign for Global Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

·         Bob Weir - Guitarist, Grateful Dead/RatDog/Dead & Company

·         Stephen Yalof - CEO of Simon Premium Outlets

The funds raised from these lunches will go toward HeadCount’s 2016 voter registration campaign, spanning over 1,000 live music events next year. For more information about HeadCount or to volunteer, visit www.HeadCount.org.

HeadCount, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that stages voter registration drives at concerts, announced that it is throwing a pair of invitation-only music events at the Presidential nominating conventions.

Billboard and GRAMMYs on the HIll® are the lead sponsors of the events.

In Cleveland on July 18th at the House of Blues, Nashville-TN based Moon Taxi will perform at the “HeadCount Convention Jam,” on the first scheduled day of the Republican National Convention.

One week later when the Democratic National Convention kicks off in Philadelphia, the HeadCount Convention Jam will feature Los Angeles-based Dawes and Vermont’s Grace Potter performing late-night sets at the Electric Factory. Mutlu, a former Governor of the Philadelphia chapter of The Recording Academy (organizer of The GRAMMYs).

Hosts for the Philadelphia event include Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. – representing the home states of the featured performers – as well as Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Linda Sanchez, D-Calif. and Peter Welch D-Vt. are also hosts.

For the Convention Jam in Cleveland, Reps Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. and Mike McCaul, R-Texas will serve as an Congressional Hosts.

The events are not open to the public, but HeadCount’s volunteers from around the U.S. will all be invited to attend. They have already registered over 30,000 voters this year at more than 700 concerts.

“The Convention Jams are meant to celebrate how music promotes voting and civic participation,” said HeadCount co-chairman Marc Brownstein of the Philadelphia-based rock band the Disco Biscuits. “I’m very excited to host Grace and Dawes in my home town, and show Convention attendees on both sides of the aisle that we really know how to throw a party."

About HeadCount:

HeadCount unleashes the power of musicians and fans to make a difference. Since 2004 we have registered over 300,000 voters, and motivated millions to be informed, vocal citizens. We turn the power of musicians, the passion of fans and the hard work of volunteers into organized efforts to drive participation. Visit HeadCount.org to get voter information, register to vote online, or volunteer.

Fans attending the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival March 2nd-5th will be treated to more than just performances by Kings of Leon, Usher with the Roots, The Lumineers and 100+ other acts. They’ll also be rewarded for being good citizens.

Thanks to some teamwork between Clean Energy Advisors, an Orlando-based social impact investment firm, and HeadCount, a non-partisan, non-profit group that registers voters at live music events, the Okeechobee Festival will feature a “Participation Row” social action village.

At Participation Row, fans exploring the grounds will have a chance to register to vote with HeadCount, learn about climate change from Clean Energy Advisors, or interact with organizations from Okeechobee County who focus on issues such as health care, domestic abuse and feeding the hungry.

The first thousand fans to complete actions with any three non-profit organizations will receive a limited-edition, numbered pin from Clean Energy Advisors. The pins feature the Okeechobee festival’s logo in front of a sun – a nod to Clean Energy Advisors’ investments in solar energy projects.

Each fan will also be entered into a free drawing for a D’Angelico guitar signed by the festival’s headliners. Moreover, a second signed guitar will be auctioned in the Eternal Sunshine VIP section, with the proceeds split among all the non-profit organizations on Participation Row.

“We are big believers in social impact investing,” said Clean Energy Advisors’ CEO Chris Warren. “So when it comes to how we spend our marketing dollars, we’re excited to support non-profit organizations and create a positive, educational experience for young people attending music festivals.”

Clean Energy Advisors will be powering Participation Row villages at festivals and concerts throughout the country this year, but Okeechobee is very much the company’s “hometown festival.”

It also holds a special place for New York-based HeadCount, which registered over 1,000 voters at the inaugural Okeechobee festival in March of last year. It was the organization’s second-highest voter registration total out of 67 festivals and nearly 1,600 events where they held registration drives in 2016.

“We got such a great response at Okeechobee last year, so this year we wanted to step things up by bringing Participation Row to the festival,” said HeadCount’s executive director Andy Bernstein. “Registering to vote is the first step in being an active citizen, and now fans will be able to take more steps with all the different organizations on the Row.”

Participation Row will be located in the ChobeeWobee Village area at the festival, alongside various art installations and craft exhibitions. The featured organizations will include: Treasure Coast Food Bank, United Way of Lee, Hendry Glades and Okeechobee County, For Okeechobee, Okeechobee Substance Abuse Coalition, The Warrior Center, Okeechobee Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 69, the Home Builders Institute, Martha’s House, and HeadCount.

A pair of D'Angelico guitars will be auctioned at this weekend's Dead & Company concerts in Chicago, potentially generating tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities chosen by the band.

One guitar – on display in the "Participation Row" social action village that travels to each tour stop – is already up to $49,000 and will be up for bid through intermission at the Saturday, July 1st tour finale. A second guitar specifically celebrating the two Wrigley Field concerts will be auctioned at the same time.

The one-of-a-kind D’Angelico guitars can be viewed in the stadium when the gates open at 4:30 PM before Friday night’s concert. Images are available here.

Each is signed by Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir, singer/guitarist John Mayer, Allman Brothers bassist Oteil Burbridge and “Fare Thee Well” and RatDog keyboardist Jeff Chimenti. Both guitars are Premier Weir SS models, which Weir and D'Angelico designed and developed together.

The last time a commemorative D'Angelico guitar signed by members of the Grateful Dead was auctioned in Chicago – at 2015's Fare Thee Well 50th Anniversary concerts – it sold for an eye-popping $526,000. HeadCount, a voter registration and civic participation non-profit, organized the guitar auction series for Dead & Company and Fare Thee Well.

HeadCount also helped produce an event last month where "Wolf," a guitar once owned by The Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia, was auctioned for $1.6 million, generating a total of $3.2 million for the Southern Poverty Law Center through an anonymous donor match.

On this summer's Dead & Company tour, three D’Angelico guitar auctions have already generated $70,000 for the band's various charities, which include HeadCount and the environmental group REVERB, the co-organizers of Participation Row.

In all, more than a dozen organizations will receive a share of the guitar proceeds.

Some of the recipients include: The Rex Foundation, The Jerry Garcia Foundation, The National Parks Conservation Association, Positive Legacy, the Hawai’i Alliance for Progressive Action and the Veterans Health and Integration Program.

Nightly signed poster auctions have generated an additional $25,000. By the time the band takes the stage for the last time this summer, the total charitable contribution could easily surpass $250,000.

"Dead & Company and their fans are incredibly generous," said HeadCount executive director Andy Bernstein. "They've helped turn Participation Row into an active and loving home for all the various causes tied to this community."

Dead & Company concert attendees have also taken nearly 20,000 socially-conscious actions on Participation Row throughout the tour – things like writing postcards to Congress, registering to vote, or taking quizzes about environmental impact. Any fan who takes three actions is rewarded with a limited edition Dead & Company pin from Participation Row sponsor Clean Energy Advisors. Fans also get a chance to win one more D'Angelico guitar signed by the band in a free drawing.

Today we launched our biggest holiday auction yet: with 21 rare collectible signed by Bob Weir, Phish, Pearl Jam, My Morning Jacket, The Roots, The Disco Biscuits, Dixie Chicks, Phil Lesh and so many more.

One of the coolest items is a signed copy of a book celebrating Joe Russo’s Almost Dead and their first 100 shows. Only 155 copies of the hard-cover were printed and none were made available to the general public until now. It’s signed by Joe and the entire band!

Other highlights include a signed poster from the Bob Weir/Phil Lesh show at LOCKN’ where they covered the Terrapin Station album in its entirely; a D’Angelico ‘Lightning Bolt’ Grateful Dead guitar signed by Bob Weir (one of just 8 made to commemorate the current Dead & Co. tour); a signed poster from Pearl Jam’s 2016 Fenway Park shows; a signed My Morning Jacket at Forecastle poster; a signed Phish poster 2016; a vinyl box-set of the Day of the Dead album signed by Bob Weir; a limited-edition Shepard Fairey Newport Folk Fest poster signed by WIlco and all the headliners; a Tedeschi Trucks Band Wheels of Soul tour poster signed by Derek, Susan and the full band; and posters from City Bisco 2016 and City Bisco 2017. Plus we’ve got signed posters dating back a few years from several gone but not forgotten festivals, with signatures from Bassnectar, Grace Potter, and Widespread Panic.

BROWSE HEADCOUNT’S HOLIDAY AUCTION

Proceeds from this auction will go towards our 2018 voter outreach efforts. We signed up 25,000 Americans for voter election reminders this year and hope to sign up 100,000 more in the coming year. These auctions make our work possible!

AUCTION ITEMS:

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – A Celebration, book signed by all members of JRAD

8/25/17 Phil Lesh w/ Bob Weir Poster signed by Phil Lesh and Bob Weir

2016 Pearl Jam Fenway Park Poster signed by Pearl Jam

D’Angelico EX-DC ‘Lightning Bolt’ Grateful Dead Guitar signed by Bob Weir

Day of the Dead Vinyl signed by Bob Weir

2015 My Morning Jacket Forecastle Poster signed by MMJ

7/23/16 Sleep Train Amphitheatre Phish Poster signed by Phish

2017 Dead & Company Summer Tour poster signed by Bob Weir + Oteil Burbridge

2016 Dixie Chicks Summer Tour Poster signed by Dixie Chicks

2016 City Bisco Poster signed by The Disco Biscuits

2017 City Bisco Poster designed by John Warner, signed by The Disco Biscuits

2016 Tedeschi Trucks Band Wheels of Soul Tour signed by the full band

2017 Newport Folk Festival Poster, designed by Shepard Fairey, signed by Wilco, Fleet Foxes, John Prine + more

2017 Newport Jazz Festival Poster signed by The Roots, Bela Fleck, Snarky Puppy + more

2016 Dead & Company Poster signed by Bob Weir

2016 Fenway Park Dead & Company Poster signed by Bob Weir

2013 Gathering of the Vibes Dubois Poster signed by Grace Potter

2014 Phases of the Moon Poster signed by Warren Haynes, Chris Robinson, members of SCI, WSP & more

2012 The Roots/Bob Weir Poster signed by Bob Weir

2013 True Music Festival poster signed by Bassnectar, Wayne Coyne, Wiz Khalifa + more

2014 RatDog/HeadCount 10th anniversary benefit poster signed by Bob Weir, Nels Cline, John Popper + more

HeadCount announced a new addition to the Participation Row activism village on the summer Dead & Company tour kicking off today.

March for Our Lives, the movement and organization started by high school students who survived the mass shooting in Parkland FL, will have a booth at every Dead & Co. show on the summer tour.

Deadheads visiting the booth will have a chance to meet alumni of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and take a photo with messages about voting. 

This all started when Parkland students attended the Dead & Co. concert in Sunrise, FL and met each member of the band. Bob Weir encouraged the students to join forces with HeadCount, captured in this video here.

HeadCount then ran voter registration efforts at the March for Our Lives demonstrations around the country on March 24th, registering more than 5,000 people. And student activist David Hogg worked with HeadCount to organize voter registration drives at more than 1,000 high schools in the last few weeks.

Making March for our Lives a featured guest on Participation Row, was a natural next step.

Here's a quote if it's helpful

“We know Bobby and the whole band were really moved by the Parkland kids," said HeadCount executive director Andy Bernstein. “And working with these kids to organize voter registration dirves has been an amazing experience for HeadCount. So bringing them on Dead & Co. tour seemed like a perfect way to tie this all together."

The Participation Row activism village, co-organized by HeadCount and the environmental group REVERB, has been part of every Dead & Co tour dating back to the band's debut Fall 2015. March for Our Lives will be joined at various stops on the tour by ”Dead Family" non-profit organizations including Wavy Gravy's SEVA, the Rainforest Action Network, and the Owsley Stanley Foundation.

Fans who take actions with three non-profits will also have a chance to win a signed D’Angelico guitar, and receive a numbered, limited edition VOTE pin. The pins, designed in the style of the famous "LOVE" sculpture but with a Steal Your Face as an O, were donated by the Dead-centric accounting firm Schulman Lobel.

A charity auction at each tour stop will also raise funds for the participating organizations. To date, HeadCount's Dead & Co. auctions have generated over $500,000 for over 40 different charities.

“We’re very grateful, excuse the pun, to Celestial Seasonings for coming up with these great tea blends specially for fans of Dead & Company and Phish,” said HeadCount’s executive director Andy Bernstein. “This is a very creative, and generous way to engage music fans around the midterm elections.”

“We’re very proud to partner with HeadCount to support their mission of getting more people engaged and participating in our democracy,” added Tim Collins, Celestial Seasonings Vice President. “It was such a thrill for us to create these new tea blends and partner with these incredible artists. We’re going to have a great time at the shows this summer talking to fans about how to get involved and be heard.”

Celestial Seasonings has been a part of the Boulder, Colo. community for over 50 years, and is one of the first consumer products ever to incorporate organic and sustainable practices. The partnership with HeadCount marks its first foray into promoting voter participation. But the company has a long history of supporting art, the environment and pro-social causes.

About 750 attendees, many fresh off a hot day at the ACL Festival, were treated to an evening of musical and political conversation at the Austin, TX club Emo's last night, highlighted by Jim James, Kam Franklin of The Suffers, and appearances by seven different candidates for office including Austin Mayor Steve Adler.

It was the inaugural night of HeadCount's "The Future is Voting Tour," which will bring James and other performers to six college towns over the next two weeks. Each event is unique hybrid of a concert and a Town Hall meeting for candidates.

James performed a 45-minute solo set of many of his most politically-charged songs including "Over and Over" from his just released album "Uniform Clarity." He preceded it with a short talk about the power of finding common ground with people with opposing views. (See Video https://www.facebook.com/andy.bernstein1/videos/pcb.10156491731731421/10156491730846421/?type=3&theater).

The purpose of the evening and tour, as described by HeadCount executive director Andy Bernstein to kick off the festivities, was to create an experience that would leave music fans better informed and inspired to vote on November 6th. 

Emcee Linqua Franqa, a PhD. student and elected member of the city council in Athens, GA, followed that theme with an uplifting mix of hip-hop and direct addresses to the audience.

Then the crowd heard from Austin Mayor Steve Adler, seeking re-election for the first time. He spoke to the audience about the importance of keeping Austin's nightlife vital and housing affordable, a theme repeated by the two other Mayoral candidates who followed.

The next musical performance featured Kam Franklin of the Suffers, a popular performer in Austin and all of Texas. Her soulful 30-minute set included talk about cannabis legalization, the importance of voting, and a Korn cover.

The night finished with appearances by Kyle Austin a Republican challenger to the incumbent Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett in the state's 35th Congressional district, and Libertarian challenger Clark Patterson. Promoter c3Presents and local organization Music Moves Austin were instrumental in bringing out many of the candidates.

Made of Oak (Nick Sanborn of Sylvan Esso) finished out the evening with a DJ Set.

In all, HeadCount registered over 800 voters in Texas throughout the weekend, including the nearby Austin City Limits Festival, two Odesza shows and The Future is Voting tour event. The deadline to register to vote in the state is October 9th. Anyone wishing to register to vote online can visit HeadCount.org.

The Future of Voting tour next visits Texas State University in San Marcos on Tue, followed by stops at the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin on Oct 10, Athens, GA on Oct 15, Simpson College in Indianola, IA on Oct 16 and Champaign, IL on Oct 17.  More information or ways to support or attend the tour can be found at bit.ly/TFIVTour

Elections are serious business. But now more than ever, we can all use a laugh when it comes to voting.

That’s why HeadCount.org, a nonpartisan voter engagement organization, has teamed up with Penguin Young Readers to launch an election version of Mad Libs. It makes it easier than ever for voters to create an “Election Day plan” for themselves – a practice that’s proven to increase the chances someone will vote.

Anyone can play the Election Mad Libs by visiting MadLibs.HeadCount.org or texting “ELECTION” to 40649. A companion video explaining can be found here.

Voters pick nouns, verbs and adjectives, but also fill in when and where they will vote and how they’ll get there. If someone doesn’t know their polling place location, a link appears where they can easily access that information.

A study published by the Association For Psychological Science showed that Americans who plan their voting in advance are 4.1% percent more likely to turn-out on Election Day

“This is a new approach to a proven method of getting out the vote,” said HeadCount executive director Andy Bernstein. “Mad Libs is an American classic that people enjoy. So it’s a great way to help people make a voting plan.”

“Mad Libs is proud to help voters create their Election Day plans, and have fun doing so!” said Francesco Sedita, President & Publisher, Penguin Workshop.

Election Mad Libs is part of Penguin Random House’s “Book the Vote” campaign, which has seen HeadCount register voters at various author signings and appearances. To date, HeadCount has registered more than 500,000 voters in its history, largely through its work with music and cultural influencers.

The Election Mad Libs platform was built by Phone2Action, with support provided to HeadCount by the William T. Hillman Foundation and Show Up 2018, a non-partisan movement to galvanize voter registration and turnout.

Want to come see Dead & Company in Mexico? Just donate $10 or more to Headcount, REVERB, and other Dead Family Orgs, and you could win a trip to Mexico to see the band at the sold-out "Playing In the Sand" Experience! AND if you donate in the next 24 hours, you’ll also be entered to win a James Perse surfboard signed by the band!

Barceló Maya Superior Package for 2

Four (4) all-inclusive nights at the Barceló Maya Resort from 1/17/19-1/21/19

Admission for two (2) into the venue for each night of the show with VIP access

Watch a song from on stage each night

Airport transportation to and from your hotel in private "Playing In the Sand" shuttles

Two (2) exclusive "Playing In the Sand" merch packs

Round-trip airfare for two (2) from any major US airport

Your donation supports REVERB’s vital work with musicians and fans for a more sustainable future and HeadCount’s important efforts registering voters at concerts and music festivals.

Head over to www.Prizeo.com/DeadandCo to enter!

Dead & Company and Playing in the Sand promoter CID Entertainment donated $75,000 to various local charities in Mexico.

In addition, a D’Angelico guitar signed by members of Dead & Company was sold in a charity auction for $69,000 - the highest ever for a Dead & Company guitar. Total auction proceeds eclipsed $150,000 when including signed posters and a commemorative REMO Percussion drumhead. These funds will be divided between Dead & Company-affilated charities WhyHunger, REVERB and HeadCount (organizer of the auction).

LOCKN’ Music Festival, nestled in the natural beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Arrington, Virginia, provides the ultimate atmosphere for live music. Now you could win the ultimate LOCKN’ experience as the personal guest of the festival’s producer, Peter Shapiro! 

HeadCount will fly you and a friend to Charlottesville, VA then you’ll be supplied with camping facilities and a pair of "Friends and Family" tickets for all four days of the LOCKN’ festival, August 22–25. Pete will whisk you around the festival on his golf cart, give you a backstage tour, and the royal VIP treatment. You'll be a fly-on-the-wall as Pete runs the festival and greets various artists, including scheduled meetups with Trey Anastasio of Phish, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi of Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead and Wolf Bros. You’ll also get unlimited access to the exclusive "Hang" area for friends and family, a stage-side viewing deck, and access to the VIP viewing area in front of the stage. 

To enter to win, just make a minimum donation of $10 supporting the amazing work of HeadCount, which registers voters at concerts and music festivals. If you want to donate more, you’ll earn more chances to win and score some great merch.

We’ll see you at LOCKN’!

Since 2015, Dead & Co Participation Row guitar and poster auctions have generated over $875,000 for various charities, with proceeds split between HeadCount, REVERB and a dozen "Dead Family" non-profit organizations. When including recent online raffles, the total is more than $1 million. Here are the new guitars D'Angelico designed for 2019. 

Here are more guitar shots

Fans have also taken more than 35,000 positive actions on Participation Row. If you take action on Participation Row you'll be able to take home the Dancing Bears VOTE Pin courtesy of Schulman Lobel.

Also joining Participation Row for the first time is HeadCount's Cannabis Voter Project which Mickey Hart tweeted about here.

Let me know if you have any questions or if there's anything else I can do to help you on this front!

HeadCount, the organization that partners with musicians to register voters, smashed it’s all-time record for the most voters registered at any festival in its 15 year history, passing the previous record (set at Bonnaroo in 2016) of 1,211. The record fell late Saturday evening, with another day left to register even more voters.

Since 2004, HeadCount has registered nearly 600,000 voters at over 5,000 concerts and music festivals.

“This is incredible. Essentially a year and a half away from the 2020 election, we are already seeing this level of excitement from young Americans about voting” says Andy Bernstein, HeadCount’s Executive Director. “2018 saw a more than 50% increase in youth voter turnout in Midterms, I can only imagine what this type of moment this will create for 2020.”

This all is in the shadow of a new law in Tennessee which would call for criminal penalties against voter registration groups for missteps in the voter registration process.

HeadCount is joining a lawsuit led by the ACLU against this law, which the to the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law says "violates the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and have a chilling effect on the exercise of fundamental First Amendment rights.”

This law, which won’t go into effect until October, creates a criminal liability for any registration efforts that do not follow new legislative mandated procedures for voter registration drives. This could potentially harm organizations like HeadCount, which helped add voters to rolls across the country this weekend at Bonnaroo and dozens of other events, including Ariana Grande concerts, Pride marches and the Mountain Jam festival in Bethel, New York.

“It’s clear that Tennessee has a need for community voter registration drives like the one we hold every year at Bonnaroo,” said HeadCount’s Director of Engagement Tappan Vickery. “I just hope that we will continue to be able to provide these services in the future without risk of fines or prosecution.”

HeadCount has plans to register voters at thousands more concerts, festivals and cultural events before the 2020 election, with the goal of registering more than 200,000 voters by the next presidential election.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead will be playing a benefit concert for the non-profit organization HeadCount at Brooklyn Bowl on November 25th, making their first Brooklyn Bowl appearance in over two years.

The show will feature a special setlist voted on entirely by fans, a fitting representation of HeadCount’s mission of registering voters and promoting democratic participation. Fans can head HERE now to pick five songs from a list of 160 that will be tallied and then built into a full, two-set show by Joe.

 Tickets for the concert go on sale HERE. The show will also be streamed live on Relix.com.

 Funds raised from the show will be used to help HeadCount hire full-time organizers in cities around the country to register voters for the upcoming 2020 election. This will mark the first time since HeadCount was founded in 2004 that the organization will hire full-time employees in specific cities and states. Descriptions of the positions, can be found HERE.

 Members of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead have a long history of appearing at HeadCount benefit concerts. Back in 2004, Russo and keyboardist Marco Benevento joined Phish’s Mike Gordon for a set at the first HeadCount benefit concert, which led to many future collaborations. That same year, guitarist Scott Metzger appeared with his band RANA at a HeadCount event on the eve of the election. Four years later, Metzger served as musical director at a benefit show featuring Russo, guitarist Tom Hamilton and bassist Dave Dreiwitz. He then musical directed a similar event in 2012. Most recently, Benevento appeared at HeadCount’s “Soundtrack to History,” an election night concert in 2016.

How would you like to work out with Bob Weir? Warning: you might not be able to keep up with him. So we'll sweeten the deal a bit: if you enter this special HeadCount prize drawing and win, we'll fly you (and a plus one) to a show as his guest. You'll also get hooked up with one-of-a-kind workout gear emblazoned with the Grateful Dead lightning bolt.

Enter with just a $10 donation to HeadCount and you could win all of this.

ENTER HERE

Big thanks to The Fitness Resource for donating the custom workout gear, which includes a weight set and bench.

CHECK OUT THE WORKOUT GEAR HERE

And bigger thanks to our board member, Bob Weir, for his ongoing support of HeadCount. Bob's workout videos on Instagram have quickly become legendary. Now, you can be part of the experience. 

Your donation helps HeadCount register and mobilize voters in 2020 and beyond. It's a huge election year, so we appreciate your support. 

Thank you,

HeadCount

It’s official: as of today, you can request your mail-in ballot for the November election from coast to coast.

If you’re planning to vote by mail this November, we recommend you start today by requesting your ballot. Because of increased demand due to COVID-19, your local election offices and post offices might be moving slower than usual. Don’t leave your vote until the last minute– request your ballot today.

Then make sure you complete every step of the process correctly and well in advance (millions of mail-in ballots get rejected because of arriving late or small errors).

Voting by mail works differently in every state. Bookmark our Vote From Home page to stay up to date on how the process works in your state.

Pro tip: You must be registered to vote in order to request an absentee ballot. Need to register? Click here. 

Today is National Voter Registration Day, a day dedicated to making sure everyone has a chance to register to vote before the election this fall.

You can verify your voter registration status here. If you have moved recently, or need to update any information such as your name or party affiliation, you can do so here. 

And if you're not registered to vote, you can do it today! It takes less than 2 minutes.

REGISTER TO VOTE

Make sure you stay up-to-date on your state's election information. You can check out your state's Voter Info Hub to see your voter registration deadlines, early voting dates, and how to apply for an absentee/mail-in ballot. 

We hope you join us in what is one of the most important days of the year. Register to vote and make your voice heard. 

Happy Voting!

Your friends at HeadCount

Today is Vote Early Day, a moment to remind you that if you can vote early – in person – before Election Day, you should.

Get ready to vote early

See if your state offers early voting and find out where you can go vote. 

Review your ballot and research who you’ll vote for.

Go vote early in person.

Get info on your state here, with locations, times, other options, and all the deets you need!

Happy Voting!

- HeadCount

Whether you voted early, voted by mail, or vote on Election Day, you’ve earned your symbolic sticker, and some entertainment!

Check out the HeadCount stage on the #iVoted livestream festival, starting at 2:45 p.m. ET on Tuesday and going til 1 a.m. You can RSVP and see the schedule here.

Performers include Trey Anastasio, Taking Back Sunday, Jim James, The Disco Biscuits, Fantastic Negrito, and Umphrey's McGee. And look for special appearances by Billie Eilish and MGMT. 

Then, starting a 9:00 p.m. ET will be the “Soundtrack to History," a live improvised performance by Everyone Orchestra. They’ll be headlining the HeadCount #iVoted stage with two sets of live, improvised music as a backdrop to the election returns. You can put it on as background music as you watch the returns, or watch the performance directly. However you tune in, it will be a unique, musical way to experience history. Every good drama needs a sick soundtrack, right?

Plus, DJ Logic will be spinning between sets and after— a late night dance party so everyone can blow off some steam.

Huge thanks to Ben & Jerry’s, ASCAP and Bobo’s for joining HeadCount as sponsors of #iVoted.

RSVP Now to View for Free!

Also check out HeadCount on Instagram Live on Election Day, where we’ll be checking in with many of the artists and entertainers who supported us all year. Kicks off with Michael Franti at 9:30 a.m. ET.

See you on Election Day. Now get out and vote!

—Your Friends at HeadCount

P.S. Questions about voting? Visit HeadCount.org or call 866-OUR-VOTE.

For the US Senate runoff in Georgia, HeadCount is working to support local organizations on the ground and elevate the incredible work they’re doing for this historic election. The Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda and CivicGeorgia are two of the many non-partisan organizations in Georgia working to turn out as many voters as possible on January 5th or through early voting. The Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda is offering free rides to any voter on Election Day with the Ride to the Polls initiative. CivicGeorgia is working to fight voter suppression and ensure equity and justice through civic engagement. Check out their Instagram page for events and opportunities to join CivicGeorgia. 

In these past couple of months, democracy was challenged, but voters prevailed. HeadCount is committed to keeping the voting and election process fair and trustworthy. We applaud the elected officials — from both parties — who honored the process laid out in our Constitution and spoke unequivocally about respecting the results of the election. Now, it’s time to address our election system itself. A bill is making its way through Congress to make voting more accessible, make processes more consistent, and address money in politics. Read up and take action here.

The 2020 Election saw the highest voter turnout in 120 years. 67% of eligible Americans made their voices heard. But now, less than a year later, 361 laws in 47 states have been put forward to restrict access to voting. These laws include changes to voting by mail, stricter voter ID laws, eliminating Same-Day Voter Registration and much more. At HeadCount, we believe that all elections should be fair, accessible and trustworthy, and that all election policies should aim to expand voter participation. So, you’re probably not surprised that we’re a little miffed about this. Coming soon, we’ll be rolling out a big campaign with musicians, brands and YOU to help  “Save the Vote!”

Florida’s SB 90 creates restrictive measures that push forward a false narrative that election integrity requires a system that makes it harder to vote.

Florida’s new election law creates immediate barriers to voter participation. This comes after a wildly successful and secure 2020 election in which millions of Floridians used the state’s vote by mail system. The new mandate to limit ballot drop box locations, hours of operation, and curtail local election official’s authority to meet the needs of their community simply removes established, tested and secure access points for voters.

These new restrictive measures push forward a false narrative that election integrity requires a system that makes it harder to vote. That is simply not true. American democracy is strongest when we create policy that makes elections accessible and secure for all voters, and we lean into policy and practice that is vetted and established as successful in this pursuit.

- Tappan Vickery, Director of Voter Engagement at HeadCount

At HeadCount, we want to make sure music fans are always getting hooked up with the best experiences. That’s why our friends at Omaze are offering the chance for you to win a VIP experience to see Dead & Company at next year’s Playing In The Sand.

You and a friend will get ultimate access to a beach-side resort, backstage tours, exclusive merch and more! AND you can feel good about doing it because your proceeds will support us and our environmental partner REVERB. But if that’s not your thing, Fandiem is giving you the chance to win a D’Angelico signed guitar, along with a one on one experience with Bob Weir, Amy Lee, Jason Mraz, Billy Strings and Incubus.

Check out the full contest page to donate and enter.

It’s now been over a year since the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and the fight to “Save The Vote!” is as important as ever. In the next week, Senate Democrats plan to try to move the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to the floor for debate, and might try to change the Senate rules to get them there (as of now, the rules require 60 votes to get a bill to the floor). Whatever you think about these bills, the filibuster or the politics behind it all, you probably agree with HeadCount’s values statement that “elections should be fair, accessible and trustworthy.” So now is a great time to speak up and let elected officials know how much this all matters.

Click below to send a short email to your legislators now!

MAKE SOME NOISE

Live music sure has been battered and bruised by COVID-19, and the uncertainty continues. But one thing we’re certain of… we love live music and whenever it’s safe to be at a show, we want to be there registering and turning out voters. With that in mind, we have one of our busiest winter slates of concerts ever. It’s all subject to change because the health and safety of our volunteers are our highest priority, but as of today you can sign up to volunteer at about 20 different concert tours, including Aminé, Billie Eilish, Bob Weir & Wolf Bros, HAIM, Goose, Portugal. The Man & alt-J, Umphrey’s McGee, and Yungblud just to name a few.

VOLUNTEER WITH US

As Dead & Company prepare to embark on their annual Summer Tour starting on June 11th at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, the non-profit organization HeadCount unveiled a new set of customized guitars that will be auctioned for charity at each concert. AJ Masthay, a contemporary artist who is extremely popular with Grateful Dead poster collectors, designed artwork on D’Angelico guitars that will be auctioned on the tour this summer, raising money for Dead Family Charities. Bids will be accepted on the guitars throughout the tour, in both the Participation Row activism village and the Loose Lucy’s VIP lounge. Remote bids can also be accepted. Participation Row travels to every tour stop and is organized by HeadCount, a non-profit organization that promotes voter registration and civic participation, along with REVERB, which promotes environmental responsibility. Anyone seeking more information can contact HeadCount’s Major Gifts Director, Kristina Raines at [email protected].

The guitars feature commemorative, one-of-a-kind art by AJ Masthay. Masthay’s guitar art is derived from his “Ripple” series of original works, as well as another called “Seasons,” which was featured in the "Neither Here Nor There" solo exhibition at Spoke Art Gallery in San Francisco in May 2019. Limited Edition prints for this series sold out immediately. The art is featured on the pickguards, along with illustrations directly drawn on the guitars. One guitar, a D'Angelico Premier SS in Ocean Turquoise color will commemorate the entire tour and others commemorate specific two-night stops on the tour: San Francisco, Chicago, New York City and Boulder.  The city-specific guitars come from a run of limited-edition custom guitars made just for HeadCount, with “VOTE” on the fretboard, HeadCount’s logo on the headstock, and an American Flag overlay. Masthay’s art will also appear on REMO Drumheads, also up for auction.

Since 2015, the Participation Row auctions have raised 1.1 million dollars for HeadCount, REVERB, and over a dozen other “Dead Family” charities selected by the band. Bob Weir of Dead & Company is a board member of HeadCount and an artist endorser for D’Angelico Guitars.  Fans who can’t bid on a guitar can have the chance to win one for free by taking actions with the non-profits on Participation Row.

AJ Masthay is most well known for his unique style of reduction block printing in the concert art arena. His blend of traditional techniques and love of live music has made him one of the most prominent figures in the rock art industry. Born in 1975, AJ is a lifetime resident of Connecticut. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1997 from the Hartford Art School, majoring in printmaking, with an art history minor. Masthay established his own letterpress studio in 2001 and is currently based out of Hartford, CT. Clients include: Grateful Dead, Dead and Company, The Jerry Garcia Estate, Black Sabbath, Foo Fighters, South Park, Queens of the Stone Age, Widespread Panic, Umphrey’s McGee and many more.

This year, HeadCount are giving away a sold out print of Masthay’s inspiration, “Ripple,” in companion to the Tour Guitar. The below video shows the process of Mashtay creating the original artwork in 2020.

In discussing the partnership, AJ Masthay said, “I'm a firm believer that if our democracy is going to function as intended, we all as citizens have an obligation to be informed and participate in said democracy, that’s why I am and will continue to be a supporter of HeadCount and their mission. My relationship with Headcount started over a decade ago and out of our partnership has come some of the most cherished pieces in my portfolio including the Bridge Session edition for Bob Weir and the “US Blues” piece from a few years ago, and of course this year's guitar series.”

Dead & Company Summer ‘22 Tour Dates:

JUN 11, 2022 @ Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA

JUN 13, 2022 @ Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA

JUN 14, 2022 @ Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA

JUN 17, 2022 @ Folsom Field in Boulder, CO

JUN 18, 2022 @ Folsom Field in Boulder, CO

JUN 21, 2022 @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis Maryland Heights, MO

JUN 22, 2022 @ Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, OH

JUN 24, 2022 @ Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

JUN 25, 2022 @ Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

JUN 28, 2022 @ Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville, IN

JUN 29, 2022 @ Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, MI

JUL 1, 2022 @ Bethel Woods Center For the Arts in Bethel, NY

JUL 2, 2022 @ Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA

JUL 5, 2022 @ XFINITY Theatre in Hartford, CT

JUL 6, 2022 @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY

JUL 8, 2022 @ Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, VA

JUL 10, 2022 @ Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA

JUL 12, 2022 @ The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, PA

JUL 15, 2022 @ Citi Field in New York, NY

JUL 16, 2022 @ Citi Field in New York, NY

A guitar played on stage by Dead & Company’s Bobby Weir has attracted a monumental bid of $250,000 in a charity auction being conducted throughout the band’s current summer tour. The one-of-a-kind D’Angelico guitar, featuring artwork by contemporary artist & Grateful Dead poster collector favorite AJ Masthay, is being used to raise funds for the nonpartisan voter engagement organization HeadCount, environmental organization REVERB, and a dozen other charities selected by the band.

Weir, who serves on HeadCount’s board of directors and has been a vocal advocate of voting and democratic participation, first played the guitar at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountainview, CA on June 13th, after which the bidding immediately popped up to $74,000. Then, when he played the guitar again at Chicago’s Wrigley Field on June 25th, it zoomed to $250,000.

The guitar and other auction items are on display each night at “Participation Row,” the charity social action village which travels with the Dead & Company tour. Fans who are not able to make it to the shows can also submit bids remotely by reaching out to HeadCount’s Major Gifts Director, Kristina Raines at [email protected].

REMAINING DEAD & COMPANY TOUR DATES:
JUL 1, 2022 @ Bethel Woods Center For the Arts in Bethel, NY
JUL 2, 2022 @ Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA
JUL 5, 2022 @ XFINITY Theatre in Hartford, CT
JUL 6, 2022 @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY
JUL 8, 2022 @ Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, VA
JUL 10, 2022 @ Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA
JUL 12, 2022 @ The Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, PA
JUL 15, 2022 @ Citi Field in New York, NY
JUL 16, 2022 @ Citi Field in New York, NY

ABOUT HEADCOUNT:
HeadCount is a non-partisan non-profit organization that harnesses the power of music, culture and digital media to register voters and inspire participation in democracy. Since 2004, we’ve registered over one million voters through our work with musicians like Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Dead & Co, Harry Styles and Megan Thee Stallion; events including Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Pride Festivals, and RuPaul's DragCon; plus partnerships with brands like Spotify, Ben & Jerry’s, and GrubHub. Our award-winning online campaigns have been seen over a billion times, while our 50,000 volunteers can be seen at more than 1,000 live events each year. We reach young people where they already are – at concerts and online – to inform and empower.

The final amount raised for charity through Dead & Company's auctions in partnership with HeadCount, environmental organization REVERB, and a handful of other charities was $658,000! The D’Angelico Premier SS Guitar played on stage by Dead & Company’s Bobby Weir closed out its bid at $300,000 on July 16 at CitiField, the last stop of the tour.

$658,600 total amount raised from all auction items over all the tour (posters, guitars, drumheads)
$300,000 "Tour Guitar" D'Angelico Auction Guitar (played onstage by Bobby)
$75,000 "NYC Guitar" D'Angelico Auction Guitar

The final Dead & Company tour will include a traveling charity auction featuring ten one-of-a-kind D’Angelico guitars designed by contemporary rock music artist AJ Masthay. Each guitar features designs using images from Masthay’s Dead & Company poster art, creating an anthology of his work with the band since 2016.

Dead & Company kick off their final tour on May 19th at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

The auction is part of the “Participation Row” activism village organized by HeadCount, a non-profit organization that promotes voter registration and civic participation, along with REVERB, which promotes environmental responsibility. Since 2015, Participation Row has raised more than $2.8 million dollars for nearly two dozen “Dead Family” charities through auctions and activity at over 180 concerts. Participation Row’s impact also includes over 25,000 fans registering to vote or signing up for election alerts, and over 100,000 single use water bottles being eliminated.

Dead & Company founding member Bobby Weir is a board member of HeadCount and an artist endorser for D’Angelico Guitars.

Anyone seeking more information or wishing to bid on a guitar remotely can contact HeadCount’s Major Gifts Director, Kristina Raines, at [email protected].

Masthay has this to say about his collaboration with HeadCount: "I'm a firm believer that if our democracy is going to function as intended, we all as citizens have an obligation to be informed and participate in said democracy, that’s why I am and will continue to be a supporter of HeadCount and their mission. My relationship with HeadCount started over a decade ago and out of our partnership has come some of the most cherished pieces in my portfolio."

Masthay is most well known for his unique style of reduction block printing in the concert art arena. His blend of traditional techniques and love of live music has made him one of the most prominent figures in the rock art industry. Masthay established his own letterpress studio in 2001 and is currently based out of Hartford, CT. He has also done work for Black Sabbath, Foo Fighters, South Park, Queens of the Stone Age, Umphrey’s McGee, Widespread Panic, and many more.

Dead & Company Summer ‘23 Tour Dates:

05-19 Los Angeles, CA - Kia Forum

05-20 Los Angeles, CA - Kia Forum

05-23 Phoenix, AZ - Ak-Chin Pavilion

05-26 Dallas, TX - Dos Equis Pavilion

05-28 Atlanta, GA - Lakewood Amphitheatre

05-30 Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion

06-01 Raleigh, NC - Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek

06-03 Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live

06-05 Burgettstown, PA - The Pavilion at Star Lake

06-07 St. Louis, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheater

06-09 Chicago, IL - Wrigley Field

06-10 Chicago, IL - Wrigley Field

06-13 Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center

06-15 Philadelphia, PA - Citizen’s Bank Park

06-17 Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center

06-18 Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center

06-21 Queens, NY - Citi Field

06-22 Queens, NY - Citi Field

06-25 Boston, MA - Fenway Park

06-27 Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Music Center

07-01 Boulder, CO - Folsom Field

07-02 Boulder, CO - Folsom Field

07-03 Boulder, CO - Folsom Field

07-07 George, WA - The Gorge

07-08 George, WA - The Gorge

07-14 San Francisco, CA - Oracle Park

07-15 San Francisco, CA - Oracle Park

With the 2024 elections on the horizon, now is the time for the youth of America to stand tall, voice their opinions, and shape the future. We at the Grateful Web urge Americans to join us in promoting the essence of democracy this coming National Voter Registration Day on September 19th, 2023.

Our nation thrives on the diverse voices of its citizens. As younger generations bring forward fresh perspectives and innovative ideas, it's crucial that these voices are represented in the polls. This can't happen unless we're all registered and ready to vote!

If you're wondering how to get started or need to update your registration details, we've got great news. @HeadCountOrg is here to simplify the process for you! Whether you're a first-time voter, need to change your address, or update your name, they've got all the resources you need to ensure you're #VoteReady. It's as quick as a song - just two minutes and you're set to play your part in the grand symphony of democracy!

📌 Here’s what you can do:

    Visit HeadCount.org and register or update your voting details. The process is easy, fast, and user-friendly.

    Spread the word. Use the hashtag #NationalVoterRegistrationDay and share with friends, family, and followers on social media. Encourage them to be a part of this pivotal moment.

    Engage with your community and join in the conversations about the importance of voting.

Every vote counts. Every voice matters. This National Voter Registration Day, let's come together and drive a movement. The road to 2024 starts now, and every step we take today shapes the narrative of tomorrow.