Hooks & Nuts - Deering Banjos Blog

Deering Banjo Company is well chuffed to share the first Scottish Gentlemen of the Road Banjo Charity Auction!

Written by Jamie Deering | Aug 3, 2015 10:59:04 AM

You have likely heard about the Gentlemen of the Road Stopovers, a global series of events in small cities and towns around the world. It began in 2012 when Mumford & Sons had a vision to create a music festival that celebrates local people, food, and culture, where everyone pitches in and everybody gets something back. It is in this spirit that we were inspired to create something truly special for the Stopovers in 2013 and created five one of a kind Gentlemen of the Road Banjos – one for each Stopover – signed by all four members of the band. The banjos are auctioned off with proceeds going to a charity of the bands choice that best compliments each Stopover location. This tradition has been continued for Gentlemen of The Road 2015! We were thrilled to have the UK Stopover be located in Scotland and to create the first Scottish Gentlemen of The Road Banjo  for Aviemore, you can see here...

The Aviemore banjo is crafted with a hard rock American maple neck, a violin grade maple rim and matching resonator, all brought together with a true black finish, and accented with a vibrant burnt orange plating. The banjo is remarkably light, weighing only 5 ½ pounds each; about the same as an acoustic guitar. The drum head features a Scottish Bison, one of the many Highland wildlife treasures of Aviemore, Scotland and is personally signed by Mumford & Sons!

In addition, the peghead features the now iconic Gentleman of the Road “Willis” head with his new 2015 style, proudly burned into the wood with the date of the Stopover underneath! The banjo is American made, right down to the custom banjo head made by Remo Drums in California. As part of this auction the GOTR Banjo will also come with a Deering branded Gig Bag.

The charity chosen by collaboration between Deering, Mumford & Sons and the town of Aviemore, Scotland is the Aviemore Medical Practice. It is a six Doctor non-profit medical partner-ship offering medical services for both residents of and visitors to Aviemore, and its surrounding areas of the Cairngorm National Park. Their practice is unique in many ways - they are the only designated casualty unit in Scotland with no overnight beds, the only general practice in the UK that provides primary medical attention to significant numbers of skiers and snowboarders and are one of only a handful of practices that provide 24/7/365 immediate care cover in conjunction with the Scottish Ambulance Service. As Aviemore is a vacation destination focusing on outdoor activities, the Medical Practice is invaluable in giving medical help when needed to those living in and visiting the area. Known as a practice that aspires to be a centre of excellence for medical training they also offer primary care education to a variety of doctors in training at various stages of their careers, as well as undergraduate medical students. With all that the Aviemore Medical Center does for their area and those from all over the world visiting, we are thrilled that they will be the beneficiary for the Aviemore Gentlemen Of The Road Banjo Auction!

To find out mor and to make this banjo yours, while giving to a fantastic cause, head here. The auction goes for just 2 more days, ending at 5pm BST, this Wednesday Aug 5th!

Happy Bidding!