Things to do/see/listen to in September 2026 Exhibitions, albums, concerts, movies, and TV shows to help you get through the month of returning to normal without immediately falling back into your routine
September has a terrible reputation, but it’s not really its fault. It’s the month of alarms going off again, inboxes filling up and the enthusiastic “I’m changing my life in September” promises that are usually abandoned by the second Monday. Culturally, though, it’s a different story. After the summer break, museums, cinemas, clubs and streaming platforms turn the lights back on and the calendar starts filling up again. September 2026 brings together major comebacks, new voices, female artists rewriting their own stories and a few sequels arriving with the emotional weight of a relationship reopened after twenty-eight years. So, if we really have to go back to reality, we might as well do it with something to listen to on our headphones, an exhibition to see and a film worth leaving the house for.
What to do/see/listen to in September 2026
The exhibition: Marialba Russo — MACRO, Rome
From September 24 to January 31, 2027, MACRO in Rome will dedicate its Galleria to Marialba Russo with Sguardo rovescio, the first major Italian museum exhibition devoted to the Neapolitan artist. Born in Giugliano in 1947, Russo has helped transform Italian photography since the late 1960s into a tool for observing not only reality, but also its social codes. The exhibition brings together six bodies of work from the 1970s, including Al ristorante, il 29 settembre 1974, Travestimento, Il Passaggio, Il Parto, Della serie delle centotrenta figure di spalle and Cult Fiction. Today, these images seem to speak a surprisingly contemporary language because they place the body, gender, ritual and identity at the center, long before they became ubiquitous terms in contemporary debate. The title captures the project well. Russo overturns the canonical gaze of an Italy that was still deeply patriarchal and also looks at the construction of masculinity from a female perspective. It’s not only about changing who is photographed, but above all about changing who is looking and from which position. The exhibition dialogues with Immagini della Madonna dell'Arco (After) at MUCIV – Museo delle Civiltà, dedicated to Russo’s fieldwork carried out in 1971 and her collaboration with research into Italian popular cultures.
The album: Prima — Adéla
On September 4, Prima, the debut album by Adéla, arrives. Twenty-two-year-old Adéla Jergová builds the record around the contradictions of adulthood: toughness and tenderness, vulnerability and confidence, physical energy and fragility. The title refers to her debut, but also to the prima ballerina, a nod to Jergová’s background in dance. A first step, then, but one with very clear ambitions. Between insecurities, toxic relationships, identity and independence, Prima tries to turn the confusion of your twenties into pop material. “Dancing and pirouettes,” to use her own definition, but with a few existential crises built in. If Prima is the debut to watch, the calendar of new music releases in September 2026 is considerably more crowded and also includes I Know Too Much by Ellie Goulding, The Fatal Flaw by Paris Paloma, Karaoke Bar by Angus & Julia Stone, Act III by Kasabian, Pylon by beabadoobee, Day and Night by Carly Rae Jepsen, Ride Lonesome by Beck and The Anatomy of a Brief Romance by Bloc Party. Your back-to-reality playlist is basically ready.
The concert: Björk and Peggy Gou — Rome
On September 12 and 13, Dissonanze – New Chapter returns to Rome for two days dedicated to electronic music, bringing together live performances, art performances and DJ sets. The most anticipated name is Björk, who will headline September 12 not with a concert, but with a DJ set. The same day will also feature Peggy Gou, one of the most recognisable DJs and producers in contemporary dance music. Following her recent Wo,man, created with Nigerian Afrobeats star Ayra Starr, Gou will bring a set to Rome that promises to move between house, disco and pop without worrying too much about genre boundaries. Still looking for more live music? Mark September 18 and 19 in your calendar for La Niña at the Teatro Grande degli Scavi di Pompei, and Marta Del Grandi on September 20 at Ultra Club as part of the Romaeuropa Festival 2026..
The film: Practical Magic 2
Twenty-eight years are enough time to change cities, partners, skincare routines and your opinion on eyebrows. Not enough to forget the Owens sisters. On September 10, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman return as Sally and Gillian in Practical Magic 2, the sequel to Practical Magic. This time, a new generation of witches enters the picture, with Joey King and Maisie Williams playing Sally’s daughters. Kylie tries to trace the origins of the curse haunting the Owens women, only to find herself getting closer to a family legacy that is far from reassuring. The comeback also arrives in the middle of the witchy aesthetic era, spanning fashion, beauty and pop nostalgia. The press tour has already made headlines for its whimsical fashion, proving that the Owens’ return is not simply a matter of cinematic nostalgia. It’s also a small case of pop archaeology, resurrected at exactly the right moment.
The TV series: Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story
True crime doesn’t seem to be retiring anytime soon, and Ryan Murphy knows it. On September 17, Monster returns for its fourth season, this time focusing on Lizzie Borden, who was accused in 1892 of killing her father and stepmother with an axe before being acquitted. Ella Beatty will play Borden, with Vicky Krieps as the maid and Billie Lourd as her sister. The season promises to shift the focus from straightforward true crime to female rage and repression, also bringing in other real-life female killers, including Aileen Wuornos. After building part of his mythology around male monsters, Murphy is therefore placing a woman at the center of the series for the first time. The result could be considerably more interesting than yet another murder story designed for binge-watching.
