Chan Centre for the Performing Arts shares first highlights of upcoming 2026-27 season
Angélique Kidjo, Naomi Klein, Branford Marsalis, and Fran Lebowitz are just a few of the big names headed to the UBC venue
Highlights of the Chan Centre’s 2026–27 season include (left to right) Tinariwen (photo by Marie Planeille) and Fran Lebowitz (photo by Brigitte Lacombe).
THE CHAN CENTRE for the Performing Arts today dropped details of some of the performances and events that it will present as part of its 2026–27 season, including a tribute to a jazz legend, reimagined classic film scores, and urgent insights from two of today’s most acclaimed activist writers.
Highlights announced today fit into several different programming streams at the UBC venue, including Chan Centre Presents, a concert series bringing celebrated artists from around the world; Chan Centre EXP, showcasing innovators and emerging voices in contemporary music; and Chan Centre Insights, featuring writers and thinkers making their mark on today’s literary and cultural landscape. In addition to these, the Chan will debut a new series of live presentations by National Geographic.
Under the Chan Centre Presents banner, the Chan hosts Tuareg music pioneers Tinariwen, playing songs from their 10th album, Hoggar (September 4); the North American premiere of a multimedia concert experience celebrating the film scores of the late Jóhann Jóhannsson (October 9); a tribute to John Coltrane by Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves (October 13); a concert by jazz guitar virtuoso Julian Lage and his eponymous quartet, playing music from his new album, Scenes From Above (October 14); a performance by Grammy- and Juno-winning singer-songwriter Allison Russell (November 9); world-music icon Angélique Kidjo (May 2); and rising-star violinist Christian Li, playing works by Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and more (May 16).
Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves
In the EXP series, the Chan welcomes U.K. alternative-rock band Palace, not to be confused with Will Oldham’s 1990s project of the same name (October 16); a concert of reimagined Studio Ghibli film scores from Vancouver’s own Ghibli Jazz Orchestra (October 24); the Vancouver debut of genre-defying pianist Elijah Fox (November 28); and Juno-nominated composer-pianist Jean-Michel Blais, performing music from his new album, mirador (April 30).
As part of the Insights series, activists Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor discuss their new book, End Times Fascism (October 8); author Zadie Smith joins the Chan for an intimate conversation on writing, culture, and storytelling (October 15); Min Jin Lee discusses her new novel, American Hagwon, in her first-ever literary appearance in Canada (November 5); American author and cultural critic Fran Lebowitz holds court (February 6); and astrologer and author Chani Nicholas explores mindfulness in her first Vancouver appearance (February 11).
The National Geographic Live series includes presentations on India’s wild cats by Sandesh Kadur (November 18), the night sky by photographer Babak Tafreshi (January 20), and the weird world of frogs by conservation biologist Jodi Rowley (March 31).
Tickets are already on sale for Chan Centre Plus members. Basic members get early access starting on June 4 at noon, and general ticket sales start June 5 at noon. See the Chan Centre website for details. 
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