The Beat

New York, N.Y. (September 9, 2026) – Belongó is a New York City-based non-profit cultural institution founded by pianist/composer and GRAMMY Award-winner Arturo O’Farrill in 2007 that is dedicated to performing, teaching, and preserving the music of the Americas rooted in African and Indigenous traditions through jazz. Today Belongó announced their second annual benefit, to take place October 14 at City Winery in Manhattan. The music-filled evening will bring together leaders and artists to support Belongó’s free music education in New York City public schools, citywide community programs, and Casa Belongó—a state-of-the-art culture hub being constructed in East Harlem.

160+ Events Featuring Nearly 500 National and International Authors, September 20th – 28th

NYC's Largest Free Literary Festival Brings Celebrates its 21st Annual Festival with Writers of Fiction, Poetry, Non-Fiction, Comics, YA, Children's Books, and More to Readers to All Five Boroughs, and Culminates with Its Flagship Festival Day and Children's Day in Downtown Brooklyn

New York, N.Y. - The Brooklyn Book Festival, New York City's largest free literary festival, announces its full schedule of 2026 events, held September 20 - 28.  Complete details are now available at brooklynbookfestival.org. The Festival is presented by Brooklyn Book Festival, Inc. and the Brooklyn Book Festival Literary Council.

The New York Historical Presents: You Should Be Dancing: New York, 1976 and Beyond

On view October 2, 2026 – April 4, 2027 with Special Opening Program and Viewing Dance Party

Press Preview: October 1, 10am – RSVP to communications@nyhistory.org 

New York, NY (September 3, 2026)—Taking visitors back to a decade when the new music genres of punk, disco, and hip hop sprang up in New York City and then exploded across the world, The New York Historical presents its new exhibition, You Should Be Dancing: New York, 1976 and Beyond. On view October 2, 2026 – April 4, 2027, the exhibition explores how, in a time of financial crisis, New York City cultivated a new generation of creativity and celebration. Featuring musical instruments, performance gear, fashion items, period photographs, albums, flyers, and posters presented within spaces reminiscent of the clubs, bars, and gathering places of the time, You Should Be Dancing illustrates the lasting impact this era has had on American culture at large.

Inspired by Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde 

New York, N.Y. - Gothic feminist playwright Patricia Lynn’s new play HYDE (Or Girls Can Kill Goats) will have a workshop production September 24 - 26 at A.R.T./New York Theatres. The play is a bold contemporary reimagining of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. A delightfully dangerous mix of Yellowjackets and John Proctor is a Villain, HYDE transforms the classic tale of good vs evil into a fierce feminist frenzy, featuring heightened language, vivid theatricality, and a vengeful goat goddess named Bernice Hyde. Lynn also serves as director.

2026 edition of annual festival includes nearly a dozen concerts performed by established classical and contemporary musicians and rising stars

The Village Trip, a massive celebration of culture and art in Greenwich Village, presents its annual festival September 25-October 4, 2026. Highlights of the classical music offerings include:

• A tribute to Paul Robeson with bass-baritone James C. Martin and pianist Lynn Raley, featuring the world premiere of new works by David Amram and Anthony Davis written in honor of Robeson’s legacy

Tom Rowan’s New Play About a Young Teacher and His Closeted Student Opens September 26 at A.R.T./New York Theatres

New York, NY (September 3, 2026) – TOSOS Theatre Company, NYC’s Historic LGBTQIA+ Theatre Company, presents the world premiere of Burning Leaves, a funny and profoundly affecting new play written by Tom Rowan, directed by Graydon Gund. Sixteen performances will be staged at the Gural Theatre at A.R.T./New York Theatres, 502 West 53^rd Street, New York, NY 10019 from September 26-October 17, 2026. Opening night is Saturday, Sept. 26 at 7:00 p.m.

Ticketed Event Takes Place at NYBG’s Edible Academy on Thursday, September 17, 4–6 p.m.

Bronx, NY—Celebrate Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) with Botanicals in Caribbean Cocktails, an inspiring discussion and demonstration honoring cultural traditions, botanical heritage, and community at NYBG’s Edible Academy on Thursday, September 17, 2026, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Join Afro-Dominican Chef Nelson German and culinary anthropologist Andréa Lawson Gray, co-authors of Caribbean Cocktails: Drinks and Bites from the Afro-Latino Diaspora, along with herbalist and NYBG’s Associate Director for the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden Arvolyn Hill, for a dynamic conversation on blending tradition, modern mixology, and the cultural connections of botanicals…

Celebrating Five Years of Honoring the Unsung Heroes On Screen and Behind the Camera with In-Person Screenings and Global Virtual Streaming

New York, NY — Chill Bucket Productions is thrilled to announce the official film selection and ticket availability for the 5th Season of the Below the Line Film Festival, returning to New York City on October 2–3, 2026 at the historic Episcopal Actors Guild Hall.

New York, N.Y. - In the first fully curated Fall season from SoHo Playhouse, the New York venue is presenting eight main house shows from the worlds of international theater and comedy, with US artists performing alongside comedians, devisers and theatermakers from Europe. With returning favorites including Xhloe and Natasha, Recent Cutbacks and Awkward Prods, the voices new to the theater include British comedian Elf Lyons in her US debut, and former SNL writer Drew Michael in his Off-Broadway debut.

Last chance to see exhibition features a rare first-edition copy of the U.S. Constitution on loan from Kenneth C. Griffin

New York, N.Y. (September 1, 2026) - South Street Seaport Museum’s landmark exhibition, The Promise of Liberty: Words That Shaped a Nation, which features rare and historical documents in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, will close on September 27. Get $10 tickets to see the exhibition before it closes at seaportmuseum.org/promise-of-liberty…