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The Jim Irsay Collection, All-Star Band Host Free Saturday Concert & Exhibition in Las Vegas

All-star band included music legends Kevin Cronin, Billy F. Gibbons, Vince Gill & Stephen Stills

The Jim Irsay Collection

LAS VEGAS (March 6, 2023) - This past Saturday, Indianapolis Colts owner & CEO, Jim Irsay hosted thousands of guests for a free afternoon of live music along with an exhibition of The Jim Irsay Collection, his renowned traveling museum of iconic artifacts from rock music, American history and pop culture at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center.

The Jim Irsay Band performed an hours-long free concert that featured music legends Kevin Cronin (REO Speedwagon), Billy F. Gibbons (ZZ Top), Vince Gill (22-time Grammy® winner) and Stephen Stills (Crosby, Stills & Nash), as well as a special tribute to the late David Crosby.

The Jim Irsay Band featured Irsay on vocals, Kenny Aronoff on drums (Sir Paul McCartney, John Mellencamp, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Bob Dylan), Billy Branch on harmonica (Willie Dixon, Johnny Winter, Keb' Mo, Taj Mahal, Lou Rawls), Tom Bukovac on guitar (played on more than 700 albums with major artists), Mike Mills on bass & vocals (founding member of R.E.M.), Danny Nucci on guitar & saxophone (actor, Titanic, The Rock), Michael Ramos on keyboards (Mellencamp, Patti Griffin, Paul Simon), Carmella Ramsey on violin, mandolin & vocals (Reba McEntire, John Hiatt, Olivia Newton-John), Kenny Wayne Shepherd on guitar & vocals (five-time GRAMMY® nominee) and Mike Wanchic on guitar (Mellencamp).

Before the concert, Irsay, an active philanthropist, presented $25,000 donations to two Las Vegas nonprofits, HELP of Southern Nevada and The Voices Project. Representatives of each organization personally thanked Irsay for his generous contributions at a pre-show press conference.

Among the many surprises throughout the afternoon, Irsay also selected three lucky attendees to win a pair of tickets to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas in 2024.

Attendees also flocked to The Jim Irsay Collection exhibit which was on display for the first time in Las Vegas.

  • The collection boasted instruments and items owned and used by the greatest artists in music history, including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Prince, James Brown, Eric Clapton, Sir Elton John, Johnny Cash, Jerry Garcia, Les Paul, David Gilmour, Jim Morrison, Pete Townshend, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and others, as well as signed photos, handwritten lyrics, and other historic music memorabilia.
  • Outside of music, the collection included signed Presidential artifacts, important original documents from American history and other unique artifacts like an original “Wanted” poster for John Wilkes Booth, a 1953 Jackie Robinson bat, Muhammad Ali’s title belt from the “Rumble in the Jungle,” Jack Kerouac’s original typewritten manuscript for On The Road and much more.
  • Newly acquired items debuted at the Las Vegas exhibition included Secretariat’s saddle from the 1973 Triple Crown, a “Wilson” volleyball from the 2000 film, Castaway, and a “Golden Ticket” from the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

For photos of the Las Vegas event visit here.

For photos of the collection, visit here.
For video overviews of the collection and events, visit here.

For general info, visit jimirsaycollection.com.

(all assets courtesy of The Jim Irsay Collection)

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JimIrsayCollection.com
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Steve Campbell
steve.campbell@colts.com
317-808-5117
Terri Maruca
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702-371-6962

"Over the years, some remarkable guitar collections have featured in the pages of this magazine. But, in terms of owning historic instruments with rock ’n’ roll credentials and sheer spending power, nobody can top Jim Irsay." READ ARTICLE

"The list of items [in The Jim Irsay Collection], spanning centuries, is extraordinary. And regardless of your area of interest, there will be something there that will blow your mind." READ ARTICLE

"As much of a spectacle as the cover sets might be—with Irsay backed by members of John Mellencamp’s band and R.E.M., among others—they’re simply a warmup act for the main attraction, Irsay’s massive and still-growing collection."  READ ARTICLE

Smells like team spirit: Billionaire Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay shares his collection of rare guitars at a free exhibition after splurging $4.4 million on Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's Fender Mustang  READ ARTICLE

"Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is displaying his world-renowned collection of historic memorabilia to the public for the first time in the Big Apple. Irsay joined Cheddar News to talk about why he's bringing artifacts from the Beatles to Jerry Garcia to light now."  WATCH VIDEO

"Bloomberg caught up with Irsay in advance of the [concert and exhibit in New York]. He talked about how much putting together a world-class collection costs and what it would take for him to part with it."  READ INTERVIEW

"The focus [of the collection] is on powerful people who changed the world. 'I have JFK, his rocking chair, Jackie Robinson's bat that he hit a homerun World Series with, Muhammad Ali's shoes from the Thrilla in Manila against Joe Frazier,' Irsay said. 'It's so eclectic because it's everything.'"  READ ARTICLE

"To call Irsay’s collection breathtaking would not do it justice. Items on display ran the gamut from historical artifacts — such as letters from George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, the wanted poster for John Wilkes Booth and the Atlantic Charter signed by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt — to pop culture items such as Hunter S. Thompson’s “Red Shark” 1973 Chevrolet Caprice convertible."  READ ARTICLE

"[Irsay’s] objective is not to pursue items that are merely expensive... It's also not enough that an item simply be rare. Rather, Irsay seeks items of significance that are tied to seminal moments, the kind that occur once in a lifetime."  READ ARTICLE

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