Fall Arts Guide 2021: More than 120 concerts, exhibits, fairs, and fests you won’t want to miss this season

Think back to last fall. As the weather was turning cooler, we were bracing for a second wave of COVID-19, there was no approved vaccine, and live events were still largely virtual or outdoors. Crowding into a stadium to sing along with your favorite artist was unthinkable, our theater companies couldn’t yet safely return to the stage, and art museums and galleries were capping visitorship or requiring viewing appointments. A year later, St. Louis is set to welcome The Rolling Stones along with other big names. The Rep and Black Rep are both back at it with can’t-miss productions. And a space at the Saint Louis Galleria will transform top to bottom into an immersive Van Gogh exhibit. What we’re getting at here is that we’ve come a long way—this fall, there’s a bounty of arts events to appeal to any and everyone. Hopefully, last year remains a distant memory, but, as always, check with a venue for any cancellations or postponements before you go.

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Ultrasound

A new museum exhibit aims to capture our city’s best musical influences. In St. Louis, that’s…a lot.

Andrew Wanko curated St. Louis Sound, the newest exhibit at the Missouri History Museum, in the same way that a musician would approach recording a well-crafted album. “It was obviously going to be impossible to include every single story or artist from St. Louis’ massive music history, but we’ve got the greatest hits, deeper cuts, and even curiosities all well-represented,” he says. 

The exhibit, which opens August 28, includes artifacts ranging from the beginning of recorded sound to Nelly’s Country Grammar. 

Selecting items to provide the full scope of St. Louis’ popular music, however, was difficult—and fun. Many of the pieces were already in the Missouri Historical Society collection, but Wanko borrowed more than 100 from people and institutions in other states, from California to New York. The gallery features items from St. Louis music icons—Scott Joplin, Tina Turner, Miles Davis, Chuck Berry—but it also contains mementos such as 1930s blues records, stage clothing from some of St. Louis’ earliest punk bands, and pieces of the bar and stage from Mississippi Nights. And then there’s the music: As visitors move through the gallery, they can use QR codes to access and listen to playlists. 

Wanko is most excited about the artifact that greets visitors when they enter the exhibit: the oldest American sound recording—known as the “St. Louis Tinfoil”—recorded on June 22, 1878, by Thomas Edison. The most surprising discovery, however, was learning that St. Louis has huge legacies in genres that the city isn’t usually known for. Wanko says that back in the 1930s and ’40s, for example, “hillbilly” musicians traveled to St. Louis in droves to perform live on radio stations such as KMOX.

Wanko considers St. Louis Sound one of the most challenging projects of his career. “The Missouri History Museum had done exhibits in the past that focused on moments or individuals, but we had never attempted the cross-era, cross-genre St. Louis music story,” he says. “So many music cities have this huge musical legacy tied up around one genre or even ‘sound’—‘Nashville country’ is different from ‘Bakersfield country,’ and on and on. We’re calling the exhibit St. Louis Sound, but there is no single ‘sound’ that can easily sum up the music this city has produced.” 

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Stage Manager

Plotting what to see across the six stages of Music at the Intersection? We’re here to help. 

Admit it: In the homebound sweatpants era, you’ve forgotten the joy of a loud show by local musicians. Consider the inaugural Music at the Intersection festival your reintroduction. For three days in September, more than 60 bands and artists will take the stage—or perhaps we should say stages. There are six of them spread throughout the Grand Center Arts District. The organizers prioritized St. Louis connections. In most cases, even the national acts have a tie to the city. 

“A city like St. Louis really deserves to have a festival that’s focused on our heritage, but also the city of St. Louis deserves to have many festivals of different genres and types,” emphasizes Chris Hansen, executive director of Kranzberg Arts Foundation, one of the festival’s presenters. “We hope that seeing homegrown events like Music at the Intersection—that are locally supported, civically funded, and locally produced—will be huge.

I think the festival has a great foundation in telling that story this year, but in future years, I hope we will be able to extend that even more.”

There’s just one obstacle. At press time, no one had come up with a way to be in two places at once, meaning that you’re going to have to make some tough choices on which artists to see, when. Here, some thoughts on the concert grid to inform your decisions.

Friday’s lineup at the Fox features two artists who have made Barack Obama’s playlist of favorites: Tonina and Roy Ayers. (Check out the latter’s Tiny Desk concert for some impressive vibraphone action.) Sandwiched in between is an artist whom Mother Jones called a “torch-bearer of emotionally raw soul music.” If you want to go with a classic STL singer/songwriter, it’ll be difficult to decide between Brothers Lazaroff and Beth Bombara—but you’ll have to.

The tough choice on Saturday comes between noon and 1 p.m. We’d say that The Big Top’s lineup swings to more funk, soul, and hip-hop (later, dig Wu-Tang Clan emcee GZA performing with New Orleans brass band The Soul Rebels). Over at The Sheldon, the sound is a little jazzier, a little bluesier, with Katarra (you might remember her performance from Mayor Tishaura Jones’ inauguration) and Blues Hall of Famer Bettye LaVette. When the clock strikes 9:30 p.m., make Gregory Porter a priority. The artist has won a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album—twice.

Sunday’s not-to-be-missed performer is Grammy-winning soul singer Lalah Hathaway, daughter of Donny. The Sheldon’s lineup leans a little more Americana, blues, and country. Still, it’s hard to pass up Funky Butt Brass Band and Marquise Knox at The Big Top.

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Changing of the Guard: SLAM Welcomes a New Director

Ask Min Jung Kim, the new Barbara B. Taylor director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, whether any particular piece in the museum’s collection has her eye, and she’ll tell you it’s like trying to pick a favorite child. Kim, the former director and CEO of the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut, succeeded SLAM director Brent R. Benjamin last summer. She is the first woman to hold the position. Kim was attracted to SLAM not only because of the museum’s encyclopedic collection but also because of how it was “continuing to understand its role within the community and how much more it can do.” Her priority will be deepening community engagement so the museum can be an even bigger, more influential, more relevant thread in the fabric of St. Louis. What is she really looking forward to? Getting to know the collection through the eyes of the museum’s curators, other staff, and visitors. “I think some of the greatest conversations I’ve had came by listening to visitors’ responses to work, including sometimes hearing ‘I don’t get that,’ or ‘I don’t like that,’” Kim says. “And to be able to ask why. To be able to start a conversation is an incredibly important role.”

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A Site to See

This fall, Shakespeare in the Streets transports Hamlet to The Ville. 

To continue living in North County, or to move to The Ville? 

That’s the question puzzling Hamlet in this year’s Shakespeare in the Streets production. For the site-specific program, the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival invites members of a community to develop and perform an original play based on one of the Bard’s works. This year’s production takes place outside the Annie Malone Children & Family Service Center in The Ville, one of the most historically significant Black communities in the United States. The neighborhood is also home to Sumner High School, the first Black high school west of the Mississippi River. 

To write the play, Sumner High School alum Mariah Richardson surveyed residents of The Ville online, asking them questions that focused on favorite memories, what makes the neighborhood special, and big dreams for the community. Richardson then collected the responses and used the stories to write a script inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet. 

“I’m talking a lot about community because people who have lived in The Ville feel very nostalgic about it, but a lot of those people do not live in The Ville now,” Richardson says. “[In the play] we look at why The Ville is not what it used to be, what The Ville could be, and different eras of The Ville.”

The playwright reenvisioned the ghost of Hamlet’s father as three separate specters. The first is Annie Turnbo Malone, the chemist, businesswoman, and philanthropist who founded a beauty line for African Americans and established her Poro College in The Ville. The second is Dick Gregory, the activist and comedian who attended Sumner High School. The third is a contemporary fictional character named Hopeless. 

“The way The Ville was when Annie Malone was there is different from when Dick Gregory was growing up there and is definitely different from how it is today when Hopeless was living there,” Richardson says.

Thomasina Clark, the production’s director and a resident of The Ville, says she’s especially excited for this year’s show because “a lot of folks who live in The Ville now are not aware of the history of this community.” She hopes it inspires residents to find new pride in it. 

Richardson feels similarly. “I’m excited about this show in The Ville because the neighborhood is part of my heritage,” she says. “I really want it to be grand and beautiful and reflect how people feel and felt about The Ville.” 

The women hope that the show will further a resurgence that’s already occurring in the neighborhood. Earlier this year, the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival was one in a group of community and arts organizations to propose a new arts-intensive curriculum at Sumner. “I think more people should consider The Ville as a place to live, to come back to, and bring it back to life,” Richardson says.

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September

Must-see Contemporary Art Museum exhibits | September 3–February 20

Four new CAM exhibits go on display this fall: In On Edge, Shara Hughes depicts a vibrant and chaotic world. Her paintings combine reality with the abstract and are known for their psychological complexity. Sculptor Kathy Butterly fires her ceramics dozens of times to create rich layers. Out of one, many / Headscapes showcases a collection of work Butterly created 1996–2018 by building out each sculpture from the same starting place: a pint glass. In Everywhere there is splendor, Farah Al Qasimi will showcase probing images of empathy, connection, and subjectivity for the museum’s Project Wall. And Lorna Simpson’s Heads will be displayed from dusk to midnight on the museum’s façade for Street Views. The two digital animations, Blue Love (2020) and Redhead (2018), come from a series that combines watercolor coifs and old black-and-white images from Ebony and Jet magazines. Contemporary Art Museum, 3750 Washington.

Sweat | September 8–26

Earlier this year, The Rep brought to the stage Lynn Nottage’s Mlima’s Tale, and now The Black Rep is mining that playwright’s oeuvre with a production of her 2017 Pulitzer Prize–winning drama, Sweat. Sweat follows lifelong friends working together on a factory floor and deals with the intersection of race, class, and friendship. The Black Rep’s production is rife with humor and emotion, even as layoffs and picket lines create division among the friends. Edison Theatre, 6465 Forsyth.

Dreaming Zenzile | September 10–October 3

The late Miriam Makeba was a South African singer and activist with a powerful voice. She’s also the subject of Grammy-nominated artist Somi’s musical Dreaming Zenzile. The Rep’s production, a world premiere, is a special collaboration with the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, New Jersey; the New York Theatre Workshop; the National Black Theatre in New York City; and New Jersey organization Octopus Theatricals. Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, 130 Edgar.

Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience  | Opening October 1

Sometimes great paintings seem to spill out of their frames. Beyond Van Gogh projects the post-impressionist artist’s masterpieces right on the walls. The visuals are accompanied by Vincent Van Gogh’s own words set to music. The effect is immersion—in dreamy colors, landscapes, swirling shapes, flowers, and cafés. Starry Night Pavilion at Saint Louis Galleria, 1155 Galleria.

Start of Jazz St. Louis season | September 17

More than 40 acts are set to perform as part of Jazz St. Louis’ 26th season, but we have our eye on the killer lineup celebrating the late Clark Terry, December 15–19: Sean Jones, Jimmy Greene, Aaron Diehl, John Clayton, and Sylvia Cuenca. And don’t miss Jazz St. Louis creative adviser Keyon Harrold, in town December 1–5. The Harold & Dorothy Steward Center for Jazz, 3536 Washington.

Aida Šehović: ŠTO TE NEMA  | September 25–December 19 

Aida Šehović created ŠTO TE NEMA as a monument to the thousands of men and boys executed in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide. It comprises more than 8,000 fildžani—small porcelain coffee cups—donated by Bosnian families to represent the victims from the town in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Adam Aronson Fine Arts Center at Laumeier Sculpture Park, 12580 Rott. 

Start of SLSO classical season | September 25

After more than a year of atypical programming at the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, full orchestral concerts are returning this fall under the music direction of Stéphane Denève. Expect guest artists from across the country and around the world, a collaboration with COCA, and new orchestral pieces. The classical season opens with the first SLSO performances of Banner by Jessie Montgomery, Dance by Anna Clyne, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. Powell Hall, 718 N. Grand.

One Night with Nikki Glaser | September 25

St. Louis native and comedian Nikki Glaser can make even the unfunny funny, touching on topics like depression and anxiety in meaningful yet hilarious ways. We especially love The Nikki Glaser Podcast, on iHeartRadio; her new HBO Max reality series, FBoy Island; and the fact that she came back to St. Louis to live with her parents during the pandemic. The Factory, 17105 N. Outer 40.

The Rolling Stones | September 26

Months ago, we polled our readers online, asking them which concert they most wanted to see post-COVID. The overwhelming response was, duh, The Rolling Stones. But our hearts broke for you, readers, because at the time, the Stones’ No Filter tour—which kicked off in 2019 and was postponed in 2020—had yet to be rescheduled. The gods—by which we mean Mick Jagger and Keith Richards—answered our prayers and are going back on the road, and the first stop’s St. Louis. Billboard might have said it best: “With the No Filter Tour, you find out that sometimes, you actually do get what you want.” The Dome at America’s Center, 701 Convention.

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Fests & The Rest

Saint Louis Art Fair | September 10–12 

It’s the destination for high-end visual art and engaging live performances on two separate stages. Hosted in downtown Clayton, the fair picks just 149 artists from a pool of more than 1,000 applicants. But it’s also family friendly, with a Creative Castle where younger attendees can make educational art projects. Downtown Clayton.

Big Muddy Dance Fest | September 17–19

Dance your heart out all weekend long in open beginner classes or, if you’re more advanced, the repertory workshop. Can’t dance? Don’t worry. There’s also a vendor fair; panel discussions; and a Dance Fest Showcase put on by the studio’s trainee program, Elevate Student Project, along with local dance companies and regional university dance programs. 3305 Washington.

Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival | September 18

Each year, 12,000 attendees flock to this all-ages jazz fest for food, drinks, and, of course, free entertainment. Downtown Webster Groves. 

Pointfest | September 19 

The alt-rock festival returns this year with two big names, Shinedown and Seether. Also on our list: St. Louis rockers Greek Fire. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, 14141 Riverport.

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More to See...

September 2: Neko Case @The Sheldon

September 3: Brooks & Dunn @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre 

September 3: Flogging Molly and Violent Femmes @ Saint Louis Music Park

September 4–6: Japanese Festival @ Missouri Botanical Garden

September 5: Korn and Staind @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre 

September 7: Jonas Brothers @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

September 13: An Evening With Leonard Slatkin, book signing @ St. Louis County Library Headquarters

September 13: Sublime @ The Factory 

September 15: The Doobie Brothers @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre 

September 15:  Harry Styles @ Enterprise Center 

September 16: Everclear @ The Factory 

September 18: Alanis Morissette @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre 

September 23:  Blake Shelton @ Enterprise Center

September 24–October 24: Jersey Boys @ Kirkwood Performing Arts Center

September 28: Machine Gun Kelly @ Saint Louis Music Park

September 30: Lil Baby @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

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October

Jim Gaffigan: The Fun Tour | October 1 & 2

There’s one joke by Jim Gaffigan that we especially identify with at this stage in our lives: “Last night, I was eating a pint of ice cream, and I finished it ... I took off the lid and threw it away, because I’m not a quitter.” That’s from his fourth comedy special, Obsessed, about all things food. Known for a clean observational act into which he sprinkles the falsetto musings of an imagined interlocutor, Gaffigan always delivers a delicious set. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market.

Buddy Guy | October 8 

Buddy Guy was recognized in 2015 as one of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time and is the subject of a documentary, Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase the Blues Away, which made it into the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. Guy is now touring in support of his 18th studio album, The Blues Is Alive and Well—an album title that perfectly encapsulates the feeling you get listening to the renowned American blues guitarist and singer. The Factory, 17105 N. Outer 40.

The Lot on the Landing Concert Series | Through October 10

Last fall, Drew Jameson of Jamo Presents launched a pop-up concert series with a 70,000-square-foot lot downtown and plenty of talent. Pods of four people could hang out (BYO lawn chair), preorder concessions, and listen to acts like The Mighty Pines and Tonina. Jameson’s back, but this time, the show’s on Laclede’s Landing next to the old Mississippi Nights. This month’s concerts include Keller Williams’ Grateful Grass. The Lot on the Landing, 1000 N. Leonor K. Sullivan.

Andrea Bocelli | October 17 

It was a hopeful but somber moment during the pandemic when Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli performed Easter weekend from an empty Duomo in Milan. Happier times are here, as Bocelli comes to St. Louis to promote his new album, Believe. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark.

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Fests & The Rest 

Historic Shaw Art Fair | October 2 & 3

Works by 130 talented artists? Check. Great food? Check. Music? Check. Picturesque surroundings, just east of the Missouri Botanical Garden? Check. It’s the Shaw Art Fair, and it’s back for its 29th iteration. Flora and Tower Grove.

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More to See...

October 2: The opening of the 2021–2022 season of the Saint Louis Ballet @ Touhill Performing Arts Center

October 2: Drive-By Truckers with Buffalo Nichols @ The Pageant

October 8: St. Vincent @ The Pageant 

October 8: The Village People @ River City Casino & Hotel 

October 9: Jason Aldean @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

October 9: Melissa Etheridge @ The Factory

October 9: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats @ Saint Louis Music Park

October 14: Dashboard Confessional @ The Pageant

October 14–17, 21–24, 28–31: Jake’s Women @ Kirkwood Performing Arts Center

October 16: Erykah Badu @The Fox Theatre

October 16: Florida Georgia Line @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

October 16: Legends of Hip Hop @ Chaifetz Arena

October 21: Dierks Bentley @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

October 24: Yonder Mountain String Band @ The Sheldon

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November + December

Zadie Smith | November 4 

Each year, it’s always an impressive feat when the Saint Louis University Library Associates manage to bring a best-selling author to our city. This year is English novelist, essayist, and short-story writer Zadie Smith, who exploded onto the literary scene with her début novel, White Teeth, in 2000. Smith will be awarded the annual St. Louis Literary Award in an event open to the public. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington.

An Evening of Ballet Stars 3 | November 6 

Hosted by Dance St. Louis, An Evening of Ballet Stars features elite dancers from prestigious and well-known dance companies—including Fabrice Calmels, Victoria Jaiani, Daniel Ulbricht, Ask La Cour, and Hee Seo—who will grace the stage with explosive performances. Edison Theatre, 6465 Forsyth.

Pretty Woman: The Musical  | November 16–28 

Don’t even bother arguing with us on this one: Julia Roberts is, and always will be, the queen of rom-com, and Pretty Woman is a paragon of the genre. Now the Audience Choice Award–winning musical (yes, it includes the Roy Orbison song) stops by St. Louis—alas, sans Roberts. The Fox Theatre, 527 N. Grand.

James Turrell: ORCA (Blue-Red)  | Through December 31 

James Turrell is an artist whose work is associated with light, color, and space, and in ORCA (Blue-Red), 1969, two squares of light—one blue, one red—merge to create a link of inky purply-black. Make an appointment at projects+exhibitions, park yourself in front of the installation, and enjoy a quiet afternoon of reflection. projects+exhibitions, 4568 Manchester.

Songs for Nobodies | December 2–12 

In this one-woman show, produced by Max & Louie, actor Debby Lennon embodies a whole constellation of stars: Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf, and Maria Callas. The stories in Songs for Nobodies are told from the perspectives of women whose lives changed after encountering one of the divas. We’re signing on for the iconic songs alone. The Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel.

Damon Wayans Jr. | December 16–19

Known for his acting roles on TV shows including New Girl and Happy Endings and movies like Let’s Be Cops, Dance Flick, and Big Hero 6, Wayans is a well-rounded comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He’s been selling out shows all over the country, but don’t worry: He’ll be in St. Louis making people laugh for four consecutive nights. Helium Comedy Club, 1151 St. Louis Galleria.

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Fests & The Rest 

St. Louis Jewish Book Festival | November 7–18

For its 43rd iteration, authors Natan Sharansky, an Israeli politician and Soviet refusenik, and historian Gil Troy are on the schedule as keynote speakers. Staenberg Family Complex, 2 Millstone Campus.

Flyover Comedy Festival | November 11–13

In 2019, St. Louis Magazine called this fest a “can’t-miss event for the city and region’s most discerning chuckleheads.” Our favorite three-day comedy invasion is back this year in The Grove with stand-up, improv, and sketch comedy at venues including The Improv Shop, Hot Java Bar & Music Lounge, and Urban Chestnut’s Grove Bierhall. Multiple locations in The Grove.

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More to See...

November 24: Lovelytheband and Sir Sly @ Delmar Hall

November 30: Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit @ Stifel Theatre

December 4: James Taylor & His All-Star Band @ Enterprise Center

December 6: CHVRCHES @ The Pageant

December 7: Kenny G @ River City Casino & Hotel

December 15: Tanya Tucker @ River City Casino & Hotel