Indianapolis & Bloomington, Ind. — Artifacts from The Jim Irsay Collection will be on display at Indiana UniversityBloomington over the next year as a part of Amped at IU, a collaborative exhibition with IU Collections to celebrate music and share pieces from Irsay’s world-renowned guitar collection.
Amped at IU, focused generally on the history of the modern guitar, will be housed at the McCalla building on IU Bloomington’s campus and will have a one-year run, ending in September 2025.
The exhibition will kick off with a Sept. 27 event during IU Family Weekend, featuring:
- One-day-only exhibition of guitars owned and played by Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Prince, Kurt Cobain, John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Nancy Wilson, Les Paul, Pete Townshend and The Edge;
- Guided tours of the one-day-only guitars and year-long exhibit space; and
- Performances by students from the IU Jacobs School of Music
The year-long exhibition will feature guitars not normally seen on The Jim Irsay Collection tour, including an 1850s CF Martin guitar, 1910 Gibson Model U Harp Guitar, 1939 Rickenbacker Silver Hawaiian Lap Steel, 1950 Epiphone Electar Lap Steel, 1954 Gibson #B-1 electric bass,1959 Fender Stratocaster Sunburst, 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, 1964 Firebird V and 1971 Fender Telecaster Rosewood.
Other items will include artifacts from The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Epstein, George Benson, Steve Earle, Janis Joplin, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, Bo Diddley and Paul Stanley.
To register for the opening or guided tour, visit the event page.
WHAT: | Grand Opening of Amped at IU |
WHEN: | Fri., Sept. 27 12 – 5 p.m. |
WHERE: | Indiana University, University Collections at McCalla 525 East 9th Street, Bloomington |
Indianapolis Colts Owner Jim Irsay’s passion for rock music, American history and pop culture led him to assemble a robust collection of culturally significant artifacts over several decades that together make up The Jim Irsay Collection. In 2022, Guitar Magazine highlighted his collection of guitars as “The Greatest Guitars on Earth.”
An active philanthropist, Irsay transformed his collection into a “traveling museum” and has hosted free exhibitions in Nashville, Tenn., Washington, D.C., Austin, Texas, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Boston. He also regularly loans artifacts to museums, nonprofits and other organizations for display and research across the country and around the world.
The mission of University Collections at McCalla is to provide accessible exhibition and educational experiences and create opportunities for students, faculty, and the community to engage with collections, IU-generated research, and creative projects in meaningful and innovative ways.
For approved Media Assets, visit:
jimirsaycollection.com/press-room
(All assets courtesy of The Jim Irsay Collection.)
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