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The Musical Instrument Museum, or MIM, in Phoenix, Arizona, is possibly one of the most interesting venues for mid-sized musicians in the country. The idea for MIM began with a unique vision to create a musical instrument museum that would be truly global, just as musical instruments are and the love for the sound they make is global. Realizing that most musical museums featured historic, primarily Western classical instruments, MIM’s founder Bob Ulrich (then CEO of Target Corporation) was inspired to develop a new kind of museum that would focus on the kind of instruments played every day by people worldwide. A focus on the guest experience shaped every aspect of the museum’s development. From the beginning, the goal of the Musical Instrument Museum has been to deliver a musical experience that is enriching, inspiring, interesting, and fun. 

This goal extends not only to the museum but also to its performance space, a very comfortable and acoustically superb 300-seat theater (pictured), where aproximately 200 artists appear each year, including many who have rarely, if ever, been seen in Phoenix. A few of the artists who have recently performed at the Musical Instrument Museum include Jim Brickman, Ruthie Foster, Loudon Wainwright III, Brandy Clark, Spyro Gyra, Paul Thorn Band, Chris Botti and more. Since it is a seated venue, MIM definitely caters to more of an adult demographic who's taste in music skews heavily towards Americana, Adult Contemporary, Jazz, World Music, Classical, Gypsy Jazz, Instrumental, Folk, and AAA styles.

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In addition to the live performances at MIM, The museum enriches our world by collecting, preserving, and making accessible an astonishing variety of musical instruments and performance videos from every country in the world. MIM offers guests a welcoming and fun experience, incomparable interactive technology, dynamic programming, and exceptional musical performances. MIM fosters appreciation of the world’s diverse cultures by showing how we innovate, adapt, and learn from each other to create music—the language of the soul.

The Musical Instrument Museum is located at 4725 E Mayo Blvd Phoenix, AZ 85050. The booking at MIM is handled by Lowell Pickett who is also the founder of the nationally known Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has been responsible for programming its stage for twenty-seven years. In that time, the Dakota has become one of the most respected small listening rooms in the United States, presenting thousands of shows covering every musical genre. At MIM, Mr. Pickett’s responsibilities include booking national and international performances for the MIM Music Theater, designing the overall programmatic mix of artists, and coordinating the schedule of performances by artists based locally and through MIM’s partner organizations. Lowell can be reached via email at lowell.pickett@mim.org or by phone at (480) 478-6000.
If you are interested in learning more about the Musical Instrument Museum, check out their website here. 

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