Icons of Music II Auction to benefit Music Rising

Tickets are currently on sale to the public for the star-studded Icons of Music II Auction, hosted by Julien’s Auctions (www.juliensauctions.com) and U2’s the Edge with a special performance by Aaron Neville. The event, taking place at Hard Rock Cafe New York in Times Square on Saturday, May 31st, will benefit Music Rising (www.musicrising.com ), a campaign co-founded by the Edge, legendary producer Bob Ezrin and Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz in 2005 to aid musicians of the Gulf Coast Region in regaining their livelihood after the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Tickets to the event will provide access to an unprecedented music memorabilia auction including a recently added guitar signed by The Police. With their final show scheduled for New York City later this year, The Police have donated an electric guitar signed by all three band members (est. $2,000/4,000) to be included in the Icons of Music II Auction.

Joining the Edge, Neville, Ezrin and Juszkiewicz will be an A-list crowd encompassing all aspects of the entertainment world. This stellar list includes legendary guitarist and inventor Les Paul, famed photographer May Pang, fashion models Petra Nemcova and Christy Turlington, designer Donna Karan and Broadway’s James Snyder, star of the musical production of Cry Baby. The evening will feature a very special performance from four-time Grammy Award winner, Aaron Neville, who has helped bring major attention to some of the charity work being done in New Orleans today. Neville, with his family, lost everything in the storms of Katrina and brings a unique personal experience to Music Rising, giving guests a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness his great musicianship when he brings the spirit of New Orleans to the auction.

A limited number of tickets for the event are currently available for $250.00 each through either Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com) or Hard Rock Cafe New York (www.hardrock.com) with all proceeds going directly to Music Rising. Tickets include entry into the evening portion of the event, special catered services and a complimentary Icons of Music II collectible auction catalog detailing all lots in the sale in full color.

The newest addition, The Police guitar, joins an unprecedented collection of music memorabilia being auctioned that includes items from Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Miles Davis, Slash, the Beatles and Johnny Cash, among others. The auction will also include several personal donations from U2’s the Edge, along with an assortment of property donated by his fellow band members. Interested parties can log on to www.juliensauctions.com to view the 400 lots which will go up for bid on that day and also register to bid.

Highlights from the Icons of Music II auction have toured the world, already making stops at The Museo De La Moda in Santiago, Chile and The Museum of Style Icons at Newbridge Silverware in Conty Kildare, Ireland. The impressive exhibit will next make its way to the Celebrity Vault in Beverly Hills before its final stop at Hard Rock Cafe New York in Times Square. Public exhibition at the Celebrity Vault in Beverly Hills will be open 11 AM to 7 PM daily from Thursday, May 22nd – Saturday, May 24th and the display at Hard Rock Cafe New York will run 11 AM to 10 PM daily from Monday, May 26th – Friday, May 30th.

To place proxy bids, register for the auction or explore the history of the more than 400 lots in the Icons of Music Auction II benefiting Music Rising go to www.juliensauctions.com. Auction Network, the first 24/7, multimedia network solely dedicated to auctions will conduct a live webcast in real-time streaming video of The Icons of Music Auction II. Auction Network will provide music fans around the world a front row seat to watch the action and excitement of the live auction and the ability to bid in real-time on items via the Internet. Pre-show video highlights include the emotional and historic stories behind such items from such legendary icons as the U2, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Elvis Presley and many more legendary artists.

Registering to Bid
Registration is required to bid in this live auction and can be done either in person at any one of the exhibitions showing the highlights from the collection or by visiting www.juliensauctions.com any time before the sale, or calling (310) 816 1818. Online bidding registration can be completed via Auction Network online.

Placing Bids
There are four ways to bid in this sale:
• Bid through Auction Network on Internet using real-time and absentee bidding.
• Place bids in the room by attending the auction .
• Bid over the telephone through an auction house representative, who sits in the room and conveys the bid to the auctioneer.
• Enter Absentee bids. Absentee bid forms are printed in the back of each catalogue, and are available at Julien’s Auctions offices and on www.juliensauctions.com

About Music Rising:
Music Rising is a campaign launched in 2005 to replace musical instruments lost or destroyed by hurricanes in the Gulf Region. It has since launched a second phase dedicated to the aid of schools and churches. Music Rising was formed by U2’s the Edge, legendary producer Bob Ezrin, and Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz. Partners of the campaign represent the most diverse partnership in the entertainment industry and include MusiCares, Guitar Center, Musician’s Friend, Live Nation, Kennedy/Marshall, Ticketmaster, Hard Rock International, VH-1, MTV, Real Networks, ABC News Now, The NFL, Rolling Stone, Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, Julien’s Auctions, ACT and the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. Music Rising is the recipient of the prestigious 2005 HALO Award for Cause Marketing and the 2006 Billboard Humanitarian Award, the 2007 PRISM Award and has been recognized around the world by various media organizations. Music Rising is administered by the Gibson Foundation. For more information go to www.musicrising.org and www.gibsonfoundation.org

About Hard Rock International
With 127 high-energy Hard Rock Cafes and nine Hotels/Casinos in 48 countries, Hard Rock International is one of the world’s most globally recognized brands. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world’s greatest collection of music memorabilia, which is displayed at its locations around the globe. Hard Rock is also known for its collectible fashion and music-related merchandise, Hard Rock Live performance venues and an award-winning website. In addition to the two flagship Seminole Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos in Tampa and Hollywood, Fla., Hard Rock Hotels/Casinos are located in Las Vegas, Biloxi, Orlando, Chicago, San Diego, Pattaya and Bali. Additional hotel and casino projects have been announced in Macau and Penang, both scheduled to open in 2009; Palm Springs, Atlanta and Panama, scheduled to open in 2010; and Dubai, scheduled to open in 2011. Hard Rock Park, located in Myrtle Beach, is the world’s first rock ‘n’ roll theme park. Hard Rock International, Inc. is owned by Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment, Inc. For more information on Hard Rock, visit www.hardrock.com.

About Julien’s Auctions
With expertise specializing in entertainment memorabilia, Julien’s has quickly established themselves as the premier auction house in high profile celebrity and entertainment auctions. Julien’s Auctions presents exciting, professionally managed and extremely successful auctions with full color high quality auction catalogues unlike any other auction company. Previous auctions include the collections of Cher, Madonna, U2, Barbara Streisand, Muhammad Ali, Debbie Reynolds, the estate of Marilyn Monroe and many more. For more information on Julien’s go to www.juliensauctions.com.

About Auction Network
Auction Network is the first 24/7, multimedia network solely dedicated to auctions. Auction Network celebrates the sport and competitive spirit of auctions with a fast-paced, interactive programming environment where buyers meet sellers.