Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix announces fall 2025 concert lineup

Phoenix’s Musical Instrument Museum doesn’t just display exotic and unique music-making artifacts; it also showcases them in action.

Inside its intimate 300-seat theater, the MIM hosts performances from artists, musicians and singer-songwriters from around the globe and across a wide variety of genres. Jazz and blues. Folk and Americana. Worldbeat and rock ‘n’ roll.

It offers some of the best acoustics of any local concert venue and one of the busiest concert calendars in Arizona. Shows light up the stage nearly every night, all year long.

Take its fall 2025 lineup, which was announced earlier this month, for example: a whopping 80-plus gigs are packed into six months, from September through early February.

MIM spokesperson Sydney Rich says the fall schedule at the Music Theater is not only epic but diverse.

The lineup includes legendary names like Jeff Goldblum and his jazz combo, the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, fellow actor-turned-musician Kevin Bacon with his brother Michael, and iconic guitarist Al Jardine, who will perform a tribute to his dearly departed Beach Boys bandmate Brian Wilson.

“Yeah, it’s a commanding calendar, for sure,” Rich says, laughing. It’s a natural extension of the museum’s mission, with not just one type of music coming through. Jeff is more jazz, the Bacon brothers are folk and Al is more of the pop sound from back in the day. So it’s a lot of different styles. We also have world music, of course, so people can look forward to acts ranging from Scotland to Brazil and every other corner of the globe.”

The MIM’s fall 2025 schedule also includes Grammy winners like rootsy guitarist Jerry Douglas, blues artist Ruthie Foster, folk queen Suzanne Vega, indie rockers Carbon Leaf and legendary record producer Booker T. Jones.

There’s also a full slate of holiday concerts, including David Benoit’s jazzy tribute to Vince Guaraldi’s beloved “A Charlie Brown Christmas” soundtrack and the Celtic-inspired touring show Irish Christmas in America. Both are perennial sellouts, so Rich recommends grabbing tickets fast when most of the MIM’s fall 2025 schedule goes on sale at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 21.

“If there’s something piquing your interest, make sure you’re on the website ready to go as quickly as possible,” she says.

Here’s the complete fall 2025 concert lineup for the Musical Instrument Museum.

Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra
Monday, Sept. 1, 6 and 8 p.m. and Tuesday, Sept. 2, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.

Walter Trout
Wednesday, Sept. 3, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.

Devon Allman’s Blues Summit
Thursday, Sept. 4, 7:30 p.m.
with Devon Allman Project, Larry McCray, Jimmy Hall and Sierra Green

Braxton Cook
Friday, Sept. 5, 7:30 p.m.

Ottmar Liebert and Luna Negra
Saturday, Sept. 6, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.

Sister Sadie
Sunday, Sept. 7, 7 p.m.

Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen
Monday, Sept. 8, 7 p.m.

Atlanta Rhythm Section
Wednesday, Sept. 10, 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m.

Jimmy Webb
Friday, Sept. 12, 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 13, 7:30 p.m.

Jontavious Willis
Sunday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m.

Michael Cleveland and Jason Carter
Monday, Sept. 15, 7 p.m.

Jon Cowherd, Brian Blade and Tony Scherr
Tuesday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m.

John Pizzarelli
Wednesday, Sept. 17, 7 p.m.

Rex Reed: Great Songs from the Movies
Thursday, Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m.
with Ann Hampton Callaway, Nicolas King and Maud Hixson

Chastity Brown
Friday, Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m.

John Scofield’s Combo 73
Saturday, Sept. 20, 6 and 8 p.m.
with Vicente Archer, Gerald Clayton and Bill Stewart

Ruthie Foster
Tuesday, Sept. 23, 7 p.m.

Acoustic Hot Tuna
Monday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m.; Tuesday, Sept. 23, 7 p.m. and Wednesday, Sept. 24, 7 p.m.

Davina and the Vagabonds
Thursday, Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m.

Graham Dechter, Alex Frank and Friends
Friday, Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m.
with Walter Smith III, Jacob Mann and Ryan Shaw

Alison Brown
Saturday, Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m.

Dominique Fils-Aimé
Sunday, Sept. 28, 7 p.m.

Carbon Leaf
Monday, Sept. 29, 7 p.m.

Joan Osborne Sings the Songs of Bob Dylan
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m.

The Lone Bellow
Wednesday, Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, Oct. 2, 7:30 p.m.

Stephen Kellogg and Tyrone Wells
Friday, Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m.

Ambrosia
Saturday, Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m.

Masters of Hawaiian Music
Sunday, Oct. 5, 7 p.m.
with George Kahumoku Jr., Daniel Ho and Tia Carrere

Micky Dolenz
Monday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 7, 7 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 8, 7 p.m.

The Bacon Brothers
Friday, Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m.

Riders in the Sky
Saturday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.

Jane Monheit
Sunday, Oct. 12, 7 p.m.

The King’s Singers
Saturday, Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m.

Noam Pikelny and Friends
Sunday, Oct. 19, 7 p.m.

The Martin Sexton Abbey Road Show
Tuesday, Oct. 21, 7 p.m.

Booker T. Jones
Wednesday, Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m.

Brandee Younger
Friday, Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m.

Benise and Pavlo: Guitar by Candlelight
Saturday, Oct. 25, 5 p.m.

Arizona Musicfest Young Musicians Fall Concert
Sunday, Oct. 26, 1 p.m.

Richard Shindell
Sunday, Oct. 26, 7 p.m.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds
Monday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m.

Caity Gyorgy
Friday, Oct. 31, 7:30 p.m.

Paula Cole
Saturday, Nov. 1, 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 2, 7 p.m.

Two Pianos, Six Hands
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 7 p.m.

Della Mae
Wednesday, Nov. 5, 7 p.m.

Amythyst Kiah
Thursday, Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m.

Hubert Laws
Friday, Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m.

Michael Kaeshammer
Saturday, Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m.

Ariel Posen
Sunday, Nov. 9, 7 p.m.

Darrell Scott
Monday, Nov. 10, 7 p.m.

Joshua Radin
Wednesday, Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m.

Celebrating the Guitar: Roberto-Venn’s 50th Anniversary Concert
Friday, Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m.
with William Eaton, Hans Olson, Walt Richardson, Muriel Anderson, R. Carlos Nakai, Will Clipman, Anthony Mazzella, Bill Dutcher, Allen Ames, Patrick Ki, Jimi “Primetime” Smith and Barton Applewhite

Andy McKee
Saturday, Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m.

Patterson Hood and Craig Finn
Sunday, Nov. 16, 7 p.m.

Breabach
Monday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m.

Django Festival Allstars
Tuesday, Nov. 18, 7 p.m.
with Veronica Swift, Ludovic Beier, Dorado Schmitt, Amati Schmitt and Samson Schmitt

Judy Collins
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m.

Chris Botti
Friday, Nov. 21, 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 22, 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Emily Scott Robinson and Andrea von Kampen
Sunday, Nov. 23, 7 p.m.

Orleans Acoustic Quartet
Monday, Nov. 24, 7 p.m. and Tuesday, Nov. 25, 7 p.m.
with Livingston Taylor

Al Jardine and the Pet Sounds Band: A Tribute to Brian Wilson
Wednesday, Nov. 28, 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, Nov. 29, 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, Nov. 30, 7:30 p.m.

Suzy Bogguss: A Swingin’ Little Christmas
Friday, Dec. 5, 6:30 p.m.

Jake Shimabukuro’s Holidays in Hawaii
Saturday, Dec. 6, 6 p.m.
with Jackson Waldhoff and Justin Kawika Young

David Benoit: A Charlie Brown Christmas
Monday, Dec. 8, 7 p.m. and Tuesday, Dec. 9, 7 p.m.

The Four Freshmen: Holiday Harmonies
Friday, Dec. 12, 7:30 p.m.

Irish Christmas in America
Sunday, Dec. 14, 5 and 7 p.m. and Monday, Dec. 15, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.

Mike Stern
Wednesday, Dec. 17, 6:30 p.m.

A Peter White Christmas
Sunday, Dec. 21, 5 and 7 p.m.; Monday, Dec. 22, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. and Tuesday, Dec. 23, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.
with Mindi Abair and Vincent Ingala

Esteban
Sunday, Dec. 28, 4 p.m.

Jim Brickman: The Gift of Christmas 2025
Monday, Dec. 29, 6 and 8 p.m.; Tuesday, Dec. 30, 6 and 8 p.m. and Wednesday, Dec. 31, 6 and 8 p.m.

Jerry Douglas Band
Tuesday, Jan. 6, 7 p.m.

Pure Prairie League
Saturday, Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m.

Bob James
Monday, Jan. 19, 7 p.m. and Tuesday, Jan. 20, 7 p.m.

Hamilton de Holanda
Thursday, Jan. 22, 7:30 p.m.

Emmet Cohen: Miles and Coltrane at 100
Friday, Jan. 23, 7:30 p.m.

JD Simo and Luther Dickinson
Thursday, Jan. 29, 7:30 p.m.

Suzanne Vega
Friday, Feb. 6, 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 7, 7:30 p.m.