Donovan Mixon is bringing his free monthly jazz series out of the auditorium and into the Dawes House.

Donovan's Garage, the improvisation series Mixon launched from his actual garage on Cleveland Street during the pandemic in 2020, opens its 2026–27 season at the Dawes House on Oct. 6. The Evanston History Center, which operates the Dawes House at 225 Greenwood St., will host nine performances running through June 2027, according to the center's event listing.

Admission is free. A $20 suggested donation at the door helps pay the musicians and cover production costs. RSVP is required because of limited seating. Those who RSVP are asked to arrive by 6:45 p.m. to hold their spot. Walk-ins are welcome after that if seats remain.

Each month, Mixon invites different guest musicians to join him for spontaneous improvisations built on jazz standards and original compositions. The event listing describes the format as a performance laboratory where audiences watch musical ideas take shape in real time.

The series has moved twice since its start. After three years in Mixon's garage behind 1135 Cleveland St., it moved to AKAR Auditorium in 2023. The Dawes House residency marks its third home.

Mixon is a guitarist and composer based in Evanston. He earned a National Endowment for the Arts grant for jazz composition in 1988 while teaching at Berklee College of Music. He spent 18 years in Europe, performing at the Umbria and Istanbul jazz festivals and teaching at institutions including Istanbul Bilgi University. Since 2010, Chicago has served as his base. He performs with his World Jazz Quintet and with the Great Black Music Ensemble of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), of which he is a recent inductee.

Mixon received the 2025 Mayor's Bright Night Award for the Arts, presented by Mayor Daniel Biss at the 47th annual ceremony at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, the Evanston Roundtable reported.

His fourth album, "Finding Center, a Sonic Memoir," was reviewed by the Roundtable in January.

The series is independently produced and funded almost entirely by audience donations.

After the Oct. 6 opener, performances continue Nov. 10 and Dec. 8, 2026, then Jan. 12, Feb. 23, March 30, April 27 and May 25, 2027. A June 2027 date has not been announced. Admission to each show includes access to the Dawes House museum and exhibits.