The Jim Irsay Collection includes Kurt Cobain’s guitar from Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” music video, Bob Dylan’s Stratocaster from the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, and one of Ringo Starr’s vintage drum kits.
There’s also the red cape that James Brown used to wear on stage, the Gibson SG guitar that George Harrison played on “Revolver,” and a grand piano that Elton John played on stage for 20 years.
Irsay, the owner of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts football team, tends to go mostly for musical memorabilia — Guitar.com called his six-string artifacts “the greatest guitar collection on Earth” in 2022.
But the Jim Irsay Collection also also includes such priceless, one-of-a-kind pop culture artifacts as the 120-foot-long scroll on which Jack Kerouac wrote “On the Road,” a pocketknife that belonged to President Abraham Lincoln; gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson’s red convertible; a 1953 baseball bat used by Jackie Robinson; Muhammad Ali’s 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” championship belt; an 1865 “Wanted” poster for the assassins of Abraham Lincoln; handwritten letters from Steve Jobs; Elton John’s prescription glasses; President John F. Kennedy’s White House rocking chair and his cigar box; and a top hat worn by President Harry S. Truman at his 1949 inauguration.
An 1865 “Wanted” poster for the assassins of President Abraham Lincoln is part of the touring Jim Irsay Collection of rock ‘n’ roll and historical artifacts.
(Courtesy of the Jim Irsay Collection )
On Jan. 11, Irsay will bring selections from his collection to Los Angeles for a free one-day exhibition that will be capped by a performance of the Jim Irsay Band, a group made up of all-star players and a handful of special guest artists including Ann Wilson of Heart, blues legend Buddy Guy, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills & Nash, Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon and Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band.
The Irsay Band features Irsay on vocals with bassist Mike Mills of R.E.M., guitarists Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Mike Wanchic, Tom Bukovac and Danny Nucci, drummer Kenny Aranoff, harmonica player Billy Branch, keyboard player Michael Ramos and violinist/vocalist Carmella Ramsey.
Baltimore Colts owner Jim Irsay is shown on the big screen at the Jim Irsay Collection memorabilia exhibit and rock concert in Las Vegas in March. He’ll bring the exhibit and concert to Los Angeles on Jan. 11, 2024.
(Tribune News Service)
The traveling museum and rock show will set up at the Shrine Auditorium from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Jan. 11. The event is open to the public and free, though while registering for tickets you’ll have an opportunity to donate to Kicking the Stigma, which raises money for mental health awareness.
“I started this collection and tour to bring people from all walks of life together to celebrate our shared history and culture and spread positive messages of unity and inspiration throughout this country and world,” Irsay said in a written statement. “It’s also why we’re so excited to return to Los Angeles, the home of so much music and entertainment history.”
The collection has been valued at more than $100 million — Irsay paid $4 million for Starr’s drums, and the championship belt that Muhammad Ali won in 1974 when he defeated George Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire cost him a hair over $6 million — but Irsay has said he’s turned down offers of more than $1 billion for the whole thing.
Jim Irsay Collection
When: 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Jan. 11
Where: Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall, 665 W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles
Admission: Free
Register for tickets: http://tinyurl.com/5c9xuepm.
Larsen writes for the Southern California News Group.
A 1953 baseball card for Jackie Robinson featured in the Jim Irsay Collection of rock ‘n’ roll and historical artifacts.
(Jim Irsay Collection)
