Chile Pepper Fiesta
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Sat, Oct 1

Lost Bayou Ramblers with special guest Gordon Gano of the Violent Femmes will headline the annual festival’s musical line up, while celebrated New York chefs deliver fiery demos and tastings and local chocolatiers show off chile-infused sweets. Fire breathing circus performers and the selection of peppers in the herb garden are pretty hot as well.

Rail Yard Talks: Rick Darke
High Line
Tues, Sept 27

Rick Darke—author, photographer and landscape ethicist—gives a free talk and slideshow about photographing the High Line, and discusses the park’s impact on landscape design and urban planning across the world.

John Kelly’s Find My Way Back Home
Museum of Arts and Design
Wed, Sept 28–Fri, Sept 30

Revisiting his 1988 work Find My Way Home, the renowned performance artist John Kelly opens two rehearsals to museumgoers and performs on September 30. Find My Way Home resets the Greek myth of Orpheus during the Great Depression. Kelly sings Noel Coward songs, French cabaret tunes and sections of Gluck’s Baroque opera Orfeo Ed Eurydice. The work will have its final staging at New York Live Arts in October.

American Classical Orchestra Opening Night
Alice Tully Hall
Thurs, Sept 29

The ACO opens its 27th season with Schubert’s Rosamunde at the acoustically superb Alice Tully Hall. Hear the luscious Brahms Alto Rhapsody and Haydn’s masterful London Symphony in a rare performance on period instruments.

Marcus Strickland’s CD Release Party
Le Poisson Rouge
Thurs, Sept 29

Strickland’s seventh recording, Triumph of the Heavy, Vol. 1 & 2, is a definitive statement from the renowned saxophonist. The volumes feature his quartet and trio.

Angélique Kidjo
Metropolitan Museum of Art—Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Sat, Oct 1

Named “Africa’s premiere diva” by Time magazine, the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter performs traditional folk songs from her native Benin with fellow countryman Lionel Loueke. The rich multicultural heritage of Benin (formerly Dahomey) is brought to life with her unique blend of Zilin vocal technique and jazz vocalese.