Gibson Guitar to participate in Crossroad Guitar Festival Village

Gibson Guitar, the world’s premier musical instrument maker and leader in music technology has announced that it will be a proud participant in Eric Clapton’s 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival Village in support of the Crossroads Centre Foundation on Saturday, July 28th at Toyota Park in Chicago. In its own tent in the Village, Gibson Guitar will create a memorable experience for fans by exhibiting classic Gibson guitar models and memorabilia. Celebrities will autograph several exclusive Gibson Custom guitars which will later be used at auction to benefit Crossroads Centre. Backline and other artist support is also being offered by the musical instrument giant. The famous Gibson tour bus and trailer will also be on hand and displayed in the Village area to be used as a VIP meeting area at this exciting festival.

Recreating the success of the original Crossroads Guitar Festival, Clapton is again dedicating a special benefit stadium concert and surrounding Festival Village in support of his Crossroads Foundation. Founded in 1998, Crossroads Centre Antigua was created to provide treatment and education to chemically dependent persons, those with other compulsive addictive behaviors, their families and their significant others. Treatment is provided through residential care, family and aftercare programs. The pathway to recovery is founded on the movement toward a change in lifestyle. Crossroads Centre, Antigua also operates a 16-bed halfway house called the Bevon House and facilitates a school-based education series. Breaking the Cycle, in all Antiguan schools, The Crossroads Centre has recently expanded its program to offer transitional living for men, in line with the Crossroads Centre’s philosophy on recovery, at The Sanctuary in Delray Beach, Florida, for those who have completed a residential treatment program. For more information, see: www.crossroadsantigua.org.

“Gibson Guitar is proud to support Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival and Village for the benefit of this worthy cause,” comments Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman/CEO, Gibson Guitar. “We are excited to help bring the great music of the festival to the fans through our sponsorship of this premier event.”

Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007 is a unique music concept developed by Clapton for music enthusiasts around the globe. The festival will feature a collection of the greatest guitarists from multiple genres for a 10-hour plus concert that will feature Jeff Beck, Doyle Bramhall II, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, BB King, Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Sonny Landreth, Albert Lee, Los Lobos, John Mayer, John McLaughlin, Willie Nelson, Robbie Robertson, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Hubert Sumlin, The Derek Trucks Band featuring Susan Tedeschi, Jimmie Vaughan, Johnny Winter and Steve Winwood. In conjunction with the concert, fans and musicians will be able to interact in the Festival Village area with exhibits and special performances. The accessibility of these artists will allow a unique opportunity for both spectators and sponsors.

Gibson is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins, and banjos. Gibson’s HD.6X-PRO Digital Guitar represents the biggest advance in electric guitar design in over 70 years. Founded in 1894 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and headquartered in Nashville since 1984, Gibson Guitar Corp.’s family of brands now includes Epiphone, Dobro, Maestro, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Echoplex, Electar, Flatiron, Gibson Baldwin Music Education, Slingerland, Valley Arts, Maestro, Oberheim, Sunshine Piano, Take Anywhere Technology, Baldwin, J&C Fischer, Chickering, Hamilton, and Wurlitzer. Visit Gibson’s website at www.gibson.com or www.gibson.com/press