Blending Appalachian honky-tonk with cinematic storytelling, Rebecca Porter pushes at the edges of country and Americana with unflinchingly raw songwriting.

This Durham-based ensemble blends jazz, hip hop, blues, rock, and gospel, honoring the roots of Black American music.

Durham’s shirlette ammons brings her acclaimed album Language Barrier home for a special 10th anniversary performance featuring Lizz Wright, Phil Cook, and other guest artists.

In Sacred Spaces, Alvin Ailey’s Associate Artistic Director Matthew Rushing and Co-creator and Musical Director Du’Bois A’Keen revisit the legacy and spirituality of Revelations.

Named for the weeping willow, Salix Piano Trio shapes Mozart, Brahms, Higdon, Bridge, and Shostakovich into a vivid arc where elegance and intensity meet “fiercely intelligent playing” (The Washington Post).

Trailblazing comedian Mo Amer brings his sharp, deeply-personal stand-up to Durham to help kick off the Duke Arts Presents season. Known for his acclaimed series MO and three stand-up specials on Netflix, Amer has built a global following with comedy that blends personal storytelling, cultural insight, and fearless humor.

Honor the dead at the Día de los Muertos Ofrenda at Duke Chapel. Visitors are invited to contribute photos, objects, or paper-chain links in remembrance of loved ones as part of this sacred Mexican tradition.

In MAJOR, a dance-theater work by Ogemdi Ude, six Black femmes explore the power, memory, and physicality of majorette dance.

A standout from Sweden’s chamber scene, Camerata Nordica’s conductor-less octet dives into Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Shostakovich, performing from within the ensemble for a thrilling sense of collaboration and energy.

Celebrated British vocal ensemble VOCES8 explores the traditions that shape American choral music, from early voices like William Byrd to contemporary composers like Caroline Shaw.

Aaron Pang walks with a cane, and everyone asks “what happened?” He’s tired of answering and so he wrote a solo show to tell it in one go. One accident, two stories: one you’ve heard a thousand times, one you’ve never heard before.

Eleven-time GRAMMY Award–winning bassist Christian McBride leads Ursa Major, a powerhouse quintet with a high energy sound that celebrates the collaborative spirit of jazz.

Awadagin Pratt is one of the most distinctive pianists in American classical music. His program, America 250, traces the breadth of American voices from Florence Price to contemporary composers.

Three brothers and close collaborator, Veit Hertenstein, bring familial chemistry to Haydn, Ives, and Tchaikovsky, pushing each work to its limits with “extraordinary, frightening brilliance” (Bachtrack).

The Ciompi Quartet, Duke University’s resident quartet, play a program rooted in U.S. musical traditions, from Samuel Barber’s powerful String Quartet, Op. 11 to Ben Johnston’s inventive quartet built around the hymn Amazing Grace.

Taylor Mac and Matt Ray return to Duke with songs from their latest project, Bark of Millions. “An Evening from the Queer Songbook” is electrifying, provocative, and a celebration of queer history.

Best known as Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, Renée Elise Goldsberry brings her powerhouse vocals for an unforgettable evening of holiday favorites and Broadway classics.

Two-time GRAMMY winners, Pacifica Quartet pairs Beethoven’s expansive Op. 130 with George Walker and Gabriela Lena Frank, placing bold contemporary voices alongside one of the repertoire’s most searching masterworks.

Duke Arts and Theatre Raleigh present Tony Award–winning performer Sutton Foster, joined by fellow Broadway star Megan McGinnis, for a concert celebrating their shared love of musical theater.

Kings Return, one of the most exciting vocal groups in a cappella, returns for a special performance celebrating community, harmony, and the power of song.

A large-scale interactive exhibition that fuses art and technology to inspire reflection on climate action. Audiences are invited to engage in different ways, serving as a metaphor for the impact we have on our planet.

Documentary filmmaker Sam Green returns to Duke with TREES, an ambitious live cinema performance blending film, live music, and on-stage narration. With music by Caroline Shaw and text by Rebecca Solnit, the work reflects humanity’s relationship with trees.

Inspired by M.C. Escher’s interplay of forms, the Escher Quartet joins pianist David Fung for Mozart, Schumann, and Korngold, music rich in dialogue, shifting between intimacy and concerto-like drama.

Parched uses intricate puppetry, visuals, a live band, and sharp humor to explore ideas of revenge, scarcity, greed, and finding hope in a tumultuous ride among the tumbleweeds.

Every year, billions of animals migrate in search of food, water, or a mate. In Incredible Animal Athletes, National Geographic Explorer Lucy Hawkes takes the stage to share these creatures’ remarkable stories.

In this evocative work, hundreds of oranges spill across the stage—passed hand to hand, scattered and crushed underfoot—as dancers reshape the space in an ever-shifting meditation on loss, survival, and human connection.

Gabriel Kahane returns to Duke with Every Love Song Is a Protest, a new song cycle affirming shared humanity, inspired by the legacies of Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King Jr, and more.

A self-conducted ensemble redefining classical performance, Sphinx Virtuosi blends Stravinsky, Ravel, and Roberto Sierra with new works in a program shaped by the sounds and stories of America.

Jeremy Denk, one of America’s foremost pianists, pairs Clara Schumann, Amy Beach, and Louise Farrenc with contemporary composers including Tania León and Missy Mazzoli in this wide-ranging recital.

Ciompi Quartet performs Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring in its original chamber scoring for 13 instruments. Joined by musicians from the Durham Fellows Quartet, the program also features works by Stephen Jaffe and Osvaldo Golijov.

British choir Tenebrae is internationally renowned for its extraordinary clarity and emotional depth. A Prayer for Deliverance brings choral works centering on rest, solace, and spiritual reflection.

Hailing from France, Quatuor Van Kuijk are BBC New Generation Artists and winners of the Wigmore Hall Competition. Their Duke Arts debut features Mozart’s “Dissonance” alongside Bartók and Brahms.

HopeBoykinDance returns to Duke with Cleo Parker Robinson Dance and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago for the premiere of “Troubled No More,” a celebration of gospel legend Pastor Shirley Caesar.

When Anthony McGill, principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, joins pianist and composer Conrad Tao, expect a program of striking range where lyricism and virtuosity meet contemporary sensibility.