Theater
Harlem Duet
Sept. 11–20
Face Off Theatre
This two-act play, inspired by Shakespeare’s Othello, moves through time to show a couple being torn apart by racial tensions in three time periods: on a cotton plantation in 1860, at the height of the Harlem Renaissance in 1928, and in 1997.
Show times are 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11, 12, 18 and 19 and 2 p.m. Sept. 13 and 20 at Kalamazoo College’s Festival Playhouse, 129 Thompson St. For ticket information, visit faceofftheatre.com.
My Mother and the Michigan/Ohio War
Sept. 17–Oct. 4
Farmers Alley Theatre
A comedy that blends the 1835–1836 historical Toledo War border dispute with a family’s modern-day Michigan–Ohio college football rivalry will be staged by Farmers Alley this month.
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, Oct. 1, 2 and 3 and 2 p.m. Sept. 19, 20, 26, 27, Oct. 3 and 4. Tickets are $33–$52 and available online at farmersalleytheatre.com or by calling 343–2727.
Anything Goes
Sept. 18–27
Kalamazoo Civic Theatre
This Cole Porter musical about the shipboard shenanigans of a stowaway, nightclub singer and a gangster aboard an ocean liner will grace the Civic stage.
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18, 19, 25 and 26 and 2 p.m. Sept. 20 and 27. Tickets are $17–$35 and available online at kazoocivic.com or by calling 343–1313.
MUSIC
Folk Songs & Memories
Sept. 11 & 12
New Vic Theatre
Featuring an eclectic mix of folk, country and contemporary tunes, this musical revue harkens back to the theater’s early history as a folk music venue and coffeehouse called the Side Door.
Showtimes are 8 p.m. at the theater located at 134 E. Vine St. Tickets are $10–$32 and available online at thenewvictheatre.org.
Sounds of the Zoo
Sept. 21–27
Various venues
The week-long, free multicultural music festival returns for its fourth year with 50 musical artists performing in dozens of genres. In addition, there will be a number of workshops on different aspects of the music business.
For a full schedule and more information, visit soundsofthezoo.com.
Mozart & Stravinsky
Sept. 26
Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra
The KSO kicks off its new season with a performance featuring violinist Alexi Kenney at 7:30 p.m. in Miller Auditorium.
Kenney has earned acclaim for his insightful and artistic interpretations and is the recipient of a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award and an Avery Fisher Career Grant. The program will include works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Igor Stravinsky. Tickets are $7–$78 and available online at kalamazoosymphony.com.
Connecting Chords Music Festival
Throughout the month
Various venues
From the artists to the venues, diverse is the key word for describing the offerings of this annual musical festival.
Take a hike at the Kalamazoo Nature Center on Sept. 13 and you’ll encounter four groups — Selkie, Norse Code, The Birdseed Salesmen and Bahar Ensemble — performing on the trails during the Migratory Music concert from 2–4 p.m. This free concert will spotlight Celtic, Middle Eastern, Scandinavian and jazz manouche musical styles.
Brazilian trio Biribá Union will perform at 7 p.m. Sept. 24 in Bell’s Back Room, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave. The group blends original music with global influences from hip hop and roots to jazz. Tickets are $5–$25.
Local musicians representing diverse faiths and traditions will perform Sept. 27 at Unity of Kalamazoo, 1204 Whites Road, in the festival’s Sound & Spirit of Kalamazoo concert. The free performance will begin at 4 p.m. and feature artists including Jonathan Moody and Svetlana Stone.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit connectingchordsfestival.com.
Outdoor concerts
Throughout the month
Various venues
The outdoor summer concert series will wrap up this month with performances across the area. Scheduled performances are:
• Brass in Pocket, 5 p.m. Sept. 2, Gilmore Car Museum, 6865 Hickory Road, Hickory Corners
• Sophia McIntosh & The Sages with Siq Music, 5:30 p.m. Sept. 2, Bates Alley, located between Edwards and Portage streets in downtown Kalamazoo
• Chris Karl, 5 p.m. Sept. 9, Gilmore Car Museum
• SaxFifth Music with DJ Conscious, 5:30 p.m. Sept. 9, Bates Alley
• Full House Band, noon–2 p.m. Sept. 13, South Westnedge Park, 9010 S. Westnedge Ave., Portage
• 3 of a Kind, 5 p.m. Sept. 16, Gilmore Car Museum
• MexiCuba with DJ Ivan, 5:30 p.m. Sept. 16, Bates Alley
• Bourbon Brothers and Dogpatch Lullaby, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Sept. 19, Celery Flats Pavilion, 7335 Garden Lane, Portage
• Matt Schultz, 5 p.m. Sept. 23, Gilmore Car Museum
• Out of Favor Boys, 5:30 p.m. Sept. 23, Bates Alley
• The Packard Family Band, 2–6 p.m. Sept. 26, South Westnedge Park
• John Louis Good & Rose City, 5 p.m. Sept. 30, Gilmore Car Museum
• The Skeletones with DJ Chuck, 5:30 p.m. Sept. 30, Bates Alley
Various performances
Throughout the month
WMU School of Music
Western Michigan University Gilmore School of Music begins a new school year with several performances. The performances are at 7:30 p.m. in Dalton Center Recital Hall and tickets are $6–$18.
• Faculty and Guest Recital, featuring Christopher Biggs (composer), Erik Sowa (drums) and Ben Schmidt-Swartz (saxophone), Sept. 11
• Benjamin Coelho, bassoon, Sept. 16
• HILO Duo, violin and cello, Sept. 30
For tickets, visit wmich.edu/music/events.
VISUAL ARTS
Art Hop
Sept. 4
Various locations
With the theme “Journey,” this month’s Art Hop explores inclusion and kinship through art that tells the personal and collective stories of the community.
This free event runs from 5–8 p.m. and features a variety of artists’ works as well as live music and the chance to visit community businesses. For a brochure showing Art Hop sites and information about participating artists, visit kalamazooarts.org.
Book Arts in Italy 2026
Sept. 4–Oct. 9
Kalamazoo Book Arts Center
This exhibition will showcase the prints and books created by two groups of KBAC students that traveled in Italy this summer, as well as works created upon their return.
The KBAC gallery is located at 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., Suite 103A, and is open from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, visit kalbookarts.org.
Continuing Exhibitions
The Carnegie Center for the Arts, Three Rivers:
• Inspiring Connections, through Sept. 9
• A Journey through the Seasons, through Sept. 9
• Goddesses: You and Me Sister, through Sept. 9
• The Limitless Sky, through Sept. 9
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts:
• West Michigan Area Show, through Sept. 27
• For the People, By the People: America at 250,
through Oct. 4.
• Resilience: A Sansei Sense of Legacy, through Nov. 1.
Richmond Center for Visual Arts, WMU
• 24-25 Foundations Exhibition, through Sept. 6
• Marijo Carney Retrospective, through Sept. 19
• Jacquelyn Ruttinger Retrospective, through Sept. 19
COMEDY
Comedy Performances
Throughout the month
Crawlspace Comedy Theatre
Start September with a giggle or two at comedy shows planned this month. Performing at the theater, located at 315 W. Michigan Ave., will be:
• Always Hallways, Sept. 4
• Stuart MacDonald Comedy Magic, Sept. 5
• Crawlspace Eviction, Sept. 11
• We Need a Hero Improvised Adventure, Sept. 12
• The Great Improv Showdown Late Show, 9:30 p.m. Sept. 12
• Crawlspace Sketch, Sept. 18, 19, 25 and 26
All shows will begin at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise and ticket prices vary. For tickets, visit crawlspacecomedy.com.
