HOLLYWOOD – Eric Clapton, whose guitar donation started the Hard Rock music memorabilia collection,  will play two shows this fall in Florida, including a Sept. 26 appearance at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood.  

Tickets for the Hollywood show cost $505, $405, $305, $205 and $105. Tickets go on sale June 18 at 10 a.m. Eric Clapton fan club members can access presale tickets beginning June 16 at 10 a.m.  Fans can also access venue presale tickets beginning June 17 at 10 a.m. through Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood’s Facebook and Twitter pages. All seats are reserved. Tickets are available at www.myhrl.com. Doors will open at 6 p.m.; the concert will be at 7 p.m.

Clapton, 76, will also perform in Tampa on Sept. 25 at Amalie Arena.

Clapton’s band for his North American shows will include Doyle Bramhall II, Paul Carrack, Nathan East, Sonny Emory, Steve Gadd, and Chris Stainton with Sharon White, and Katie Kissoon on backing vocals. The show will feature Jimmie Vaughan as special guest.

Clapton played a huge role in the start of Hard Rock’s massive music memorabilia collection, which now totals more than 86,000 items.  According to Hard Rock, it all began when Clapton was a regular customer at the Hard Rock Café in London. He asked Hard Rock Café co-founder Isaac Tigrett to hang his guitar above the bar stool Clapton occupied to “mark his spot.” A week later, Pete Townshend, of “The Who,” sent his guitar to the restaurant with a note that read “Mine’s as good as his! Love, Pete.”

The Hard Rock memorabilia collection was born.  

Another connection between Clapton and Hard Rock came in 2013 when they partnered on limited edition T-shirts and pins in support of the Crossroads Centre Antigua, a non-profit addiction center in Antigua co-founded and substantially funded by Clapton. Also that year, Clapton played at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood.