Bassist esperanza spalding and Iranian-American chef Samin Nosrat amid offerings as Chan Centre for the Performing Arts unveils more of its 2025-26 season
Plenty is in store, from Portuguese fado singer Carminho to cooking star Yotam Ottolenghi, culture-fusing songstress Arooj Aftab, and beyond
Esperanza spalding (left, Holly Andres photo) and Samin Nosrat (Aya Brackett photo).
THE CHAN CENTRE for the Performing Arts has just announced several artists featured on its 2025–26 lineup, spanning Portuguese fado singer Carminho, violinist Ray Chen, and beyond.
Kicking off the Chan Centre Presents series on August 29 is five-time Grammy Award–winning artist esperanza spalding. The Portland-born bassist and singer-songwriter interweaves jazz, art rock, and Afro-Latin sounds, resulting in acclaimed albums like 12 Little Spells and Songwrights Apothecary Lab.
A few more artists have been unveiled under the Presents umbrella. On October 25, Arooj Aftab will return to Vancouver to share her signature mix of jazz, pop, blues, and Urdu poetry. Born and raised in Pakistan and now based in the U.S., she won a Grammy Award in 2022 for best global music performance for her song “Mohabbat”, and has been nominated seven other times.
Also on the Presents lineup is acclaimed Taiwanese-Australian violinist Chen (who has garnered an impressive following of one million on Instagram) on November 2. And Carminho will hit the stage on October 2; as the daughter of renowned fado singer Teresa Siqueira, she has made a name for herself in the music world by blending Brazilian bossa nova and pop.
New this year is the Chan Centre Insights series, which highlights literary-world icons in the realms of food, fiction, storytelling, and beyond. Iranian-American chef Samin Nosrat, whose 2017 release Salt Fat Acid Heat is considered one of the best reference books in modern cooking, will launch the series on October 16 with a talk called GOOD THINGS: An Evening with Samin Nosrat, moderated by Helen Zaltzman. They’ll discuss all things related to Nosrat’s upcoming book Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love. The Insights series will also include An Evening with Yotam Ottolenghi, another culinary icon renowned for his vegetable-focused cooking and Middle Eastern flavours.
Dominique Fils-Aimé. Photo by Sabiha Merabet
Fennesz. Photo by Carsten Nicolai
In the Chan Centre EXP series—which is all about showcasing bold, sonically innovative artists—are Vancouver-based electronic musician Tim Hecker and American guitarist and electronic musician Fennesz on September 17. Then there’s boundary-defying singer ganavya, who was born in New York and raised in Tamil Nadu, India, performing songs from her lullaby-infused latest album Nilam in her Vancouver debut on November 18. And as for the new year, Haitian-Canadian singer-songwriter Dominique Fils-Aimé will perform on March 7.
One more act has been announced for the all-new Made in Canada series: Susan Aglukark and PIQSIQ on April 12. Aglukark, the first Inuk artist to win a Juno Award, will be joined by Inuit throat-singing sisters Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Ayalik, who local concertgoers may recall from their entrancing performance at last year’s Vancouver Folk Music Festival.
The Chan Centre’s 2025–26 headliners, powerhouse Latin American musician Natalia Lafourcade and best-selling Canadian author Louise Penny, were announced in April (and tickets are now up for grabs). For this newly announced batch of shows, tickets go on sale June 4 at 12 pm for Membership Plus season subscribers, June 10 at 12 pm for Basic Membership holders, and June 13 at 12 pm for general admission.
Keep an eye on the Stir site for more news as the Chan Centre’s 28th season—the biggest in its history—draws closer. 
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