F1 season may be upon us, but as always, there’s more to September than unabashed glitz and glamor. Check out the various concerts, film festivals and arts events, all happening within the same month.
DANCE
Relive your youth and dance the night away at the House of Timbre as swing band Steamed Eggs and Ginger perform hit tracks from Disney movies of the 40s and 50s. Sept 1
FOOD
Kilo Under Pressure is a series dinner nights where amateur chefs take the lead in the kitchen and serve a restaurant full of discerning guests. This edition sees Clay Kuok, an Art Director from Macau who only really started cooking after moving to Singapore. Sep 1
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FOOD
Mid-Autumn Festival seems to be an occasion to outdo the originality of last year’s mooncakes. This time, Grand Hyatt Singapore is pushing the snowskin mooncake envelope with fillings like refreshing strawberry and lime infused tequila truffle; citrusy buddha’s hand truffle; and even a Japanese-inspired mix of matcha infused lotus paste, azuki beans and sake truffle. Get a box of four traditional mooncakes or eight pieces of snowskin mooncakes for $69 at mezza9 from now till Sep 15.
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FESTIVAL
Esplanade’s long-running program returns in a new format. They’re ditching their 10-day “festival” concept for the fresher Mosaic Music Weekend, with acts like UK singer-songwriter Patrick Wolf, Korean electronic band Idiotape, Singapore’s singer-songwriter DEON, and others. Sep 1-4
PARTY
This month’s edition of Cato’s Interstellar night brings techno DJ Marco Shuttle, who’ll be kicking off his 2016 Asia tour right here in Singapore. Sep 2
DRINK
3rd Culture Brewing Company, that craft beer hawker stall at Maxwell, is hosting the 12-Tap Beermadeggon Tastefest Bonanza. One $30 ticket gets you five beers. Sep 2
FESTIVAL
Fancy food festivals like Savour, Epicurean Market and Chang Sensory Trails are all well and good, but we’re intrigued by this heartland festival doing all the pasar malam favorites. Sep 2-4
PARTY
Escape 56 is the first party of this sort to be held at Aliwal Arts Center. Join veteran local DJs Brendon P, DJ KFC, Debbie Chia, Maurice Simon, Haan and DJ Zig Zach as they smash the night with deep, dark and heavy beats. Sep 2
WORKSHOP
What could be better than learning how to make terrariums while in the company of feline friends? The Green Capsule hosts a workshop at The Company of Cats, which includes two hours of quality time with the cats. Limited slots. Sep 2
RETAIL
UNIQLO is opening their first southeast Asian Global Flagship Store right here in Singapore. The new Orchard Central outlet will have three floors that spans over 2,700 sq. meters. Apart from the shopping, check out the interesting elements co-created by local artists throuhgout the store. Sep 2
FILM
Singaporean Film Society and Darpan Singapore is bringing The Apu Trilogy to Golden Village, featuring three great Bengali films directed by Satyajit Ray that have been remastered in 4K. Sep 2-4
Pina, a film screened at Cineda:ns
FILM
Esplanade’s annual da:ns festival is returning on Oct 13-23, but in the meantime, The Projector is partnering up with Esplanade to screen three dance-related films; two of which are focused on the artistic directors of dance companies Batsheva Dance Company and Tanztheatre Wuppertal Pina Bausch. Sep 2-4
ART
You’ve heard of dinner in the dark, but Arts Beyond Sight will have professionally trained visually impaired facilitators to guide visitors through 30-minutes of art in the dark. Sep 2-8
FILM
We sure hope you have your tickets already, because the mad popular A Design Film Festival is kicking off today, with films like Original Copy, about the last film poster painter in Mumbai, Crazy about Tiffany’s, about the iconic jewelry brand and In Pursuit of Silence. Tickets sell out fast. Sep 3-11
PARTY
Time to flash and splash at Oasis, an urban day-to-night pool party that’s launching at Baywatch @ Hotel Jen, with heavy beats and chill vibes by DJs Titus, Submerge, Ramesh K and Jag. Sep 3
WELLNESS
More outdoor wellness goodness as Outta Hatha’s Najiah Ramlee conducts a 60-minute Dynamic Core Flow sunset class on everybody’s favorite rooftop at People’s Park Complex. Sep 3
WELLNESS
It’s a different way to stay fit but if you’ve always wanted to wield a saber, join the SaberFit class this month, which claims will burn up to 600+ calories per hour through cardio, plyometrics, core and abdominal exercises. Sep 3
PARTY
Barbecue food by the pool, along with some great drink deals and weekend music by DJs Oliver Osborne, Haan and more, make for a chill Saturday afternoon. SO Sofitel Singapore’s Whet Pool Party is back with a new barbecue menu to boot. Sep 3
DANCE
Gyrate your hips and hit the dance floor to the salsa beats at Post Bar’s Latino Night. Sep 3
BOOK
Just as the name of the event suggests, Booktique’s 5 Under 25 event will see young poets like Mohammed Mukul Hossine, Cheryl Julia Lee, Hamid Roslan, Ruth Tang and Theophilus Kwek share their new and published poems as part of the Singapore Literature Fair. Sep 3
PARTY
Take a walk down memory lane while having a good ol’ burger and beer with nostalgic R&B, hip hop and dancehall tunes from the 90s that’ll hit you right in the feels at Meatliquor. Sep 3
Local alternative rock band, boxchild
CONCERT
Local alternative rock band boxchild, who are also Noise Music Mentees and National Arts Council Grant recipients, are releasing their EP at Aliwal Arts Center, with Forests and Sangriento as supporting acts. Sep 3
WELLNESS
Besides yoga, doing zumba outdoors is also fast becoming a thing. Organizers Funzing Singapore are holding an hour of calorie-burning, heart-racing and muscle-pumping zumba class at the heart of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Sep 4
CHARITY
Zouk is throwing an event on their club grounds for charity. Fairground, a Beyond Social Services’ initiative wil see highlights such as lightsaber making workshops, flea markets and carnival games. All proceeds will go to Beyond’s programs. Sep 4
PARTY
Daytime drinking at Labrador Park’s Training Shed has long been gone but Kult Kafe’s Sunday on the Hill has proven time and time again to be an excellent place to enjoy the same kind of vibes, music and food. Sep 4
CONCERT
No longer just kids, this energetic Canadian pop-punk quintet Simple Plan will be back in Singapore with their newly released fifth studio album, Taking One For The Team. Aside from new tracks like “Singing in the Rain”, expect your favorite classic chart-toppers like “Perfect” and “Addicted”. Tickets are $138 from Sistic. Sep 5
FILM
Objectifs is holding a series of short film screenings involving selections from South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong and of course, Singapore, based on the theme, “Youth Today”. On the line-up for the Singapore contingent of this year’s Asian Film Focus is The Tiger of 142B, The Trams, The Mountains, The Family Photo, 3 Seconds and more. Sep 7-10
DRINK
Back for its second, wine-heavy edition, Savour has doubled its size and will feature over 400 different wine labels from South America, Argentina, Spain and more. Wine connoisseur or not, have a dizzying time at the Marina Bay Sands Exhibition Center. Sep 9-11
FESTIVAL
The ninth annual Singapore Toy, Game and Comic Convention (STGCC) will turn the entire Sands Expo and Convention Center into a melting pot of pop culture, filled with local and regional cosplayers, die-hard collectors and more. Sep 10-11
Ultra Music Festival
FESTIVAL
Last year’s Road to Ultra proved that Singapore had a healthy stream of EDM lovers, leading the huge brand to set up camp with the full-fledged edition of Ultra Music Festival right here in Singapore, which sees EDM stalwarts like deadmau5, Axwell and Ingrosso, Above & Beyond and Kygo, alongside local acts like DJ Myrne, Shigga Shay, Rave Republic and Maurice Simon. Sep 10-11
CONCERT
If you grew up listening to your parents’ records, then you’ll know who Elvis Costello is. More than just a musician and singer-songwriter, Costello presents his songs and stories in a candid, retrospective performance on this tour, celebrating his musical career of more than 35 years. Tickets start from $48, available via Esplanade. Sep 11
MARKET
One of your last chances to hang out at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, the Fantastic Thai Market is bringing together over 100 vendors selling (presumably Thai) food and merchandise, live bands and food trucks by Kerbside Gourmet and Kombi Rocks, who specialize in food and restoring vintage cars and vans. Sep 12
FESTIVAL
Music Matters Live is now in its 11th year. Look out for a wide range of music, with highlights such as The Veronicas, an Australian pop punk band fronted by identical twins; electronic indie pop band from Israel, Garden City Movement; New Zealand’s R&B songstress, Aaradhna; and more. Sep 12-15
CONCERT
Yuck recorded their first studio album in a house belonging to a band member’s parents. They’ve been going strong ever since, touring with biggies like Modest Mouse, Tame Impala and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. They’ll be playing at Hood Bar and Cafe come Sep 13. Tickets are $55 from Peatix. Sep 13
THEATRE
Eve Ensler’s monologue-driven play The Vagina Monologues is back in Singapore. Hosted by sexual awareness organization Lila Sutra, the format of this award-winning play sees real women with no acting experience talking about issues such as misogyny, female genital mutilation, slut shaming and more. Sep 13
PARTY
For three days, Altimate’s hosting its annual Circuit Party in association with Johnnie Walker, a day-to-night Farmer’s Market at Stellar and the Williams Martini Racing Party at 1-Altitude. Sep 16-18
SPORT
Now in its ninth year, Formula 1 Singapore Airline Singapore Grand Prix is back with more roaring engines, big-name performers and uber-glam huge parties. Sep 16-18
CONCERT
Related to F1, this year’s diverse line-up of concerts for the Off-track segment include Halsey and Imagine Dragons, who’ll be on the same bill as huge international headliners Kylie Minogue, Queen + Adam Lambert, Bastille, KC and the Sunshine Band and Pentatonix. Tickets here. Sep 16-18
PARTY
It doesn’t stop there: Sophie Ellis-Bextor is performing at the Podium Lounge, where F1 drivers, celebrities, supermodels and the occasional mortal conglomerate to have a good time. Who knows, you could even rub shoulders with the likes of Sebastian Vettel. Sep 16-19
ART
Riot!, Singapore’s cult drag revue, has officially made their home at, Wala Wala. Featuring the most divalicious drag queens who use their powers for good and for evil, prepare to belly laugh, drink copiously and blush furiously. Sep 17
© Ellie Davis, Stars. Singapore International Photography Festival 2016
ART
The main segment of the Singapore International Festival of Arts will have highlights which include controversial stage production Five Easy Pieces by acclaimed Swiss director Milo Rau, plays like “Everything by My Side” by Fernando Rubio and more. Through Sep 17
FOOD
The team behind theatrical dining experience AndSoForth is back with their latest interactive dinner sessions The Spy, The Thug, His Wife and Her Lover happening at a secret location. Tickets are at $88 here. Through Sep 18
CONCERT
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis‘s “Thrift Store” three years ago was the first song since 1994 to top the Billboard Top 100 list without the support of a major record label. Now, the Grammy-award winning hiphop duo will be here to amaze us with tracks off their sophomore record This Unruly Mess I’ve Made and other hits. Tickets start at $68 from Sistic. Sep 20
FESTIVAL
Anyone who loves beer knows that Oktoberfest doesn’t start in October. Erdinger’s Oktoberfest is back for another cycle of limited edition brews and tasty bites. A highlight this year is the unique Erdinger Barcycle, which is basically a mobile bar counter that will roam around Suntec City this month and two other locations next month. More details here. Sep 21-Oct 2.
FESTIVAL
It’s been four years since Gillman Barracks, and they’re celebrating with their beloved programs Art After Dark and Art Day Out, both happening on the same weekend, with tons of food, drink, music and mural painting. Sept 23-24
FESTIVAL
The annual Archifest is back, running Sep 23-Oct 9 with a big pavillion at Raffles Place Park, a slew of special events and, our favorite, an all-new series of Architours, guided tours through public, institutional and residential buildings done by top architectural firms. Sep 23-Oct 9
PARTY
It’s been 11 years since Poptart brought their brand of indie-flavored everything. Dress up in your worst uniform getup and join in the festivities at OverEasy Orchard as they clear the hall of tables and chair for your dancing pleasure. Sep 24
CONCERT
Later this year, Fort Canning will bear witness to a night of killer riffs and towering vocals as the flagbearers of modern British metal, better known as Bring Me The Horizon, take the stage at Fort Canning Park with their number one hit single, “Drown” and more tracks from their new studio album, That’s The Spirit. Tickets are $108 from Sistic. Sep 27
DRINK
Singapore joins in the celebration of coffee on National Coffee Day. Here, National Coffee Movement is working together with Kopi Pass to enjoy coffee at 30 different cafes, who’ll be pricing their coffee at $1, as long as they’ve purchased a Kopi Pass. Sep 29
THEATRE
One of Broadway and West End’s most celebrated musicals has returned to our shores. The colorful fantasy world of Wicked tells the story of Wizard of Oz witches, Elphaba and Galinda, and their opposing outlooks. Get your tickets to enjoy this incredible production before the season ends. Sep 29-Oct 30
ART
Singaporean artist Tan Choo Kai has a new collection, National Day Celebration, that’ll showcase his interpretations of natural landscapes at Pan Pacific Singapore’s Public Art Space. Through Oct 31
FESTIVAL
As we gear up for the season of all things art—from dance productions, night festivals and theatre work—here’s another one to add to your list. The Singapore International Photography Festival (SIPF) returns for its fifth year to celebrate this widely accessible form of art. Through Nov 13
