Prints for LA: Auction of Artist-Signed Prints for Sweet Relief Musicians Fund
Featuring Dawes, Jason Isbell, Lukas Nelson, Natalie Merchant, Steve Earle, Yola, Blake Mills and more.
When early news of the devastation in LA started to appear, I was shocked to hear that Griffin Goldsmith, drummer and founding member of
—a band I’ve photographed several times over the past 11 years—had lost his house.Inspired to do something, I hastily arranged a simple fundraiser from my iPhone while in the middle of shooting a music festival, offering fans a small print to anyone who sent me a receipt for a $100 or more donation to Griffin’s GoFundMe, and later any GoFundMe or LA-related cause.
But the news kept getting worse: 11,000 others had lost their homes, including scores of people in the music community. As has been broadly reported, and chronicled on the Dawes’ Substack, Taylor lost his recording studio and instruments while former bassist Wylie Gelber lost his Altadena home as well.
At first I thought I might auction a few prints on eBay. I had a few left over from a COVID-era fundraiser in 2020. But over the last few weeks, with much pestering of management, 20 artists signed on to help with this fundraising project. I’m proud and humbled to have somehow brought together this assemblage. (It’d be a dream festival lineup!) After production expenses, 100% of proceeds will go to the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund who are providing emergency assistance to the LA music community.
(I’m writing this from a plane bound for San Francisco to report on their benefit concert featuring and honoring Joan Baez, to be published here soon. Please subscribe if you’d like to hear about it.)
A few images particularly resonate to me: Blake Mills poolside in a friend’s back yard in Malibu, Joe Henry on the patio his home in Altadena, and Dawes rehearsing with Jason Isbell at the Newport Folk Festival. Collectively, the images Any musician with taste and an understanding of music history knows that LA is a unique and important center of 20th and 21st century musical creation and are indebted to it.
The auction, at go.rallyup.com/printsforLA opened this morning and runs until 9PM EST on Friday, February 14th.
PS - Thanks to Relix and the Tennessean for covering the auction (and thanks publicity magicians Missing Piece Group who are supporting this fundraiser pro-bono).
