Seventy Signed Guitars Were Stolen From the Oregon Music Hall of Fame

The instruments would have been auctioned off to raise money for music education and scholarship programs.

Oregon Music Hall of Fame Photo courtesy of Oregon Music Hall of Fame.
By Andi Prewitt

Seventy guitars that were autographed by famed musicians and intended to be used as a fundraiser for the Oregon Music Hall of Fame have been stolen.

Sometime during the evening of Sunday, Feb. 27, thieves broke into the nonprofit’s storage unit and swiped the instruments, which had been signed by everyone from the Monkees to George Clinton to Portugal the Man. The collection was headed to auction in order to raise money for music education and scholarship programs.

Also swiped were guitars bearing the signatures of the latest local inductees, which would have been displayed at the Youth Music Project’s Oregon Music Hall of Fame exhibit in West Linn. The total estimated loss stands at $130,000.

The Oregon Music Hall of Fame honors Oregonians who have made outstanding contributions to the development of the music industry at any level: local, regional or national. Nominees must have been born in the state, or have resided or operated in Oregon at some point during their lifetime.

However, the nonprofit also holds schoolwide music assemblies to inspire local students. And its scholarships typically fund at least four college-bound graduates who are seeking to further their music education. The stolen guitars would have supported those efforts.

A police report has been filed, but Oregon Music Hall of Fame’s directors are asking the public to keep an eye out for the instruments, which may end up in secondhand music stores, pawn shops, or online shopping forums. Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to notify the Portland Police Bureau and scholarship director Janeen Rundle at info@omhof.org.

The Oregon Music Hall of Fame’s primary fundraiser and induction ceremony is still scheduled to be held Saturday, Oct. 8, at Aladdin Theater.

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