Donovan’s Garage: Evanston’s Free Monthly Jazz Performance Laboratory
Donovan’s Garage: Evanston’s Free Monthly Jazz Performance Laboratory
FREE Admission; Suggested $20 donation at the door. RSVP Required
October 6, November 10 and December 8, 2026
January 12, February 23, March 30, April 27, May 25 + June TBD, 2027
Donovan’s Garage is a performance laboratory where jazz artists create spontaneous improvisations from standards and original compositions. The series, initiated and led by Donovan Mixon and performed by his invited guests, different each month, invites audiences behind the curtain of the creative process, allowing them to witness musical ideas as they emerge, evolve, and take shape in real time. The series began in Mixon’s own garage during the pandemic in 2020 before becoming a regular public series at AKAR Auditorium in 2023. It is now making its home at the Dawes House for the 2026–27 season.
Donovan’s Garage remains a free-admission, independently produced series sustained largely by the generosity of its audience. The Evanston History Center provides the home for this residency, while audience donations help pay the musicians and cover the production costs that make each event possible. Audience members are encouraged to donate a suggested $20 per person or a donation of their choice to Donovan’s Garage in cash or Venmo at the show to support these talented musicians.
Admission includes entrance to the Dawes House museum and exhibits.
Please note: Due to limited capacity, RSVP is highly recommended. Patrons who have RSVPd are asked to arrive by 6:45pm to secure their spot. Walk-ins will be welcome after 6:45pm if there are seats available.
About Donovan Mixon:
Guitarist Donovan Mixon is a self-described citizen of the world. In 1988, then a Berklee College of Music professor, he was awarded an NEA grant for jazz composition. His artistic journey led to an 18-year residency in Europe, primarily in Italy and Turkey, where he performed at music festivals such as the Umbria and Istanbul jazz festivals and taught concepts from his unique method ‘Performance Ear Training’ at music schools and universities such as DAMS in Bologna Italia and Istanbul Bilgi University. Since 2010, Chicago has been his creative hub where he performs in clubs, concert halls and festivals with his World Jazz Quintet as well as with the GBME–Great Black Music Ensemble—of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) of which he is a recent inductee. Mixon curates monthly jazz performances with a series called “Donovan’s Garage” a unique performance laboratory located in N. Evanston. His latest recording, ‘Finding Center’ is set for prerelease in May 2025. It features all original compositions, fellow AACM members Fred Jackson Jr, Leon Q Allen and other instrumentalists such as Robert Irving III, Charles Heath, Emmanuel Ngolle, Cory Biggerstaff and the splendid voice of Sarah Marie Young.
Donovan Mixon photo by Joerg Metzger.