The Temptations return to Albuquerque at Isleta on Jan. 15

Led by founder Otis Williams, the Motown group plays Isleta Resort & Casino on Friday, Jan. 15, 2027, nearly five years to the week after its last Albuquerque show.

In January 2022, The Temptations played Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus. Almost exactly five years later, they're coming back for another January night in Albuquerque.

The Temptations play Isleta Resort & Casino on Friday, Jan. 15, 2027, at 8 p.m. Tickets are sold through Isleta, and the room holds about 2,500. The date was announced Oct. 14.

Their last Albuquerque show was Jan. 13, 2022, at Popejoy. The return, two days short of five years later, moves from a campus concert hall to the casino's showroom, which is a little bigger.

The Temptations are a group, not a fixed set of people. Lineups have changed over six decades, but one man has been there the whole time. Otis Williams co-founded the Motown vocal group and is its last surviving original member. He still performs with the group, and he owns the rights to the Temptations name. When you buy a ticket, you're seeing the group he has led and kept on the road through every lineup change.

The group's story has also reached a new audience in recent years. *Ain't Too Proud*, the musical about The Temptations, went from Broadway to a national tour, and Playbill has covered the casting of its leads. Williams has also been the subject of recent profiles about his long career, from touring during segregation, which he discussed with CBS News, to a return visit to Motown covered by uDiscover Music.

As for the 2027 date: there's been loose talk online about what Williams might do next, but nothing official about a new album or a big 2027 world tour. What is confirmed is the touring. The Temptations were headlining concerts across the country throughout 2026, and Isleta is on the calendar for January.

A Friday night in January at Isleta is a good fit for this music. These songs have been played at weddings, anniversaries and on car radios for generations, and the crowd usually reflects that, with grandparents and grandkids in the same row. A casino showroom makes it easy to turn the night into a full evening out: dinner, the show, and a drive home up the valley.

Practical notes: tickets are through Isleta's own site, so start there rather than a reseller. An 8 p.m. start leaves room for an early dinner on site. It's January, so it'll be cold after the show; bring a coat for the walk to the car.

Groups that started in the 1960s don't usually last until 2027. This one has, because one of its founders never stopped touring. On Jan. 15, Albuquerque gets another chance to hear the songs from the man who's been singing them since the beginning.

Sources: Otis Williams (Wikipedia) (en.wikipedia.org); Michael Andreaus and E. Clayton Cornelious take on leading roles in Ain't Too Proud national tour (Playbill) (mobile.playbill.com); Otis Williams, founder of The Temptations, discusses touring during segregation (CBS News) (cbsnews.com); Temptations' Otis Williams Returns To Motown (uDiscover Music) (udiscovermusic.com); The Temptations Announce 14 Tour Dates Across Multiple Cities (AOL) (aol.com); The Temptations (Mediamass) (en.mediamass.net); Isleta Resort & Casino (isleta.com); The Temptations at Isleta Resort & Casino (JamBase) (jambase.com)