Sept. 23-29, 2026
The Hamiltons’ last stand: end of an era for a local punk band. Plus a salty/sweet tribute to the spicy Tim Curry, Will Oldham’s latest musical mutation, a review of Jiang’s Kitchen, and lots of Things to Do this week.
Cover Story
The Hamiltons reflect on friendship and loss ahead of final show
When venerable Orlando punks The Hamiltons take the stage at Will’s Pub Saturday for what its members promise is their final show, it will be a return to the place where their story began. It’s a fitting bookend for a band whose history has been shaped by music, addiction, incarceration, friendship and the death of…
Ganesh Utsav brings a piece of home to Central Florida for the Marathi community
For members of the Orlando Marathi community, Ganesh Utsav is more than a religious observation. It is a meeting point for memories and migration.
The dream of the ’90s is alive in Orlando theme parks
I attended two very different Orlando theme park events that both flipped back the calendar, letting me remember what it was like to party like it’s 1999.
Jiang’s Kitchen downtown folds ambition into every soup dumpling
Eric Jiang appears to be toeing the line between dynamic chef and unhinged restaurateur. Since moving to Orlando from Syracuse, the man opened Sushi Izuki, a star-chasing omakase joint in O-Town West last summer, and then, a couple of months ago, his downtown dumpling spot Jiang’s Kitchen. But he and his wife, Miaozhen Zhang, will…
New on Netflix: ‘A Different World’ reboot; Russell Crowe as ‘Unabomber’
Streaming Thursday, Sept. 24: A Different World — The latest sequel series to a classic 1980s sitcom follows the daughter of Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert as she navigates her freshman year at Hillman College. As is customary for Netflix, all 10 episodes are dropping at once, which means the show won’t feel irrelevant when…
Melrose Film Festival highlights Orlando filmmakers on the rise
Not a single movie at this year’s Melrose Film Festival will ask for more than 10 minutes of your time, in case your commitment-phobia was already starting to flare up.
Hit musical ‘Hamilton’ returns for Orlando run
Now, as the United States marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, Hamilton’s arguments over immigration, revolution, political power and who gets to claim the American story haven’t exactly quieted down.
Learn the ways of the ones and twos at Orlando’s DJ Summit
In the DJ world, there are turntablists and then there are people who just press play. If you know the difference, then you know who the true gods are. This weekend, the Orlando DJ Summit rallies aspiring mixmasters and beyond.
Orlando Girls Rock Camp throws all-ages matinee show at Will’s
Orlando Girls Rock Camp takes over the stage at Will’s with another show highlighting seven acts: Bacon Grease, Electric Blue, Immortal Jellyfish, Killing in the Kitchen, Shine and the Shakers, Switch Slut and Usual Suspects.
Orlando punk supergroup The Buzzwords keep it primal on new single
Orlando punks The Buzzwords are powered by the kind of hot scuzzy licks that sound like Chuck Berry dragged through the NYC gutters that spawned the New York Dolls and Johnny Thunders. With strutting guitars and wildman soul wailing, this two-song escapade is a deliciously shambolic joyride of pure rock.
Monster Moku brings ‘the dark side of tiki’ to Orlando
Monster Moku, happening at the DoubleTree on International Drive, is a weekender exploring “the dark side of tiki.”
Sunburst Convention brings legion of celebrity impersonators to Orlando
Orlando gets plenty of character meet-and-greets, but Sunburst Convention of Celebrity Impersonators and Tribute Artists ditches the cartoons, with no oversized mouse-heads in sight.
Americana power couple Harber Wynn play Will’s Pub show
Even when musical pair Hannah Harber and Thomas Wynn have shared the stage, they’ve done so as individual stars.
Musical enigma Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy back in Orlando this week
Will Oldham, as Bonnie “Prince” Billy (and other monikers), has spent more than three decades proving that a song is never truly finished.
Orlando’s New Wave Cabaret pays spicy tribute to actor Tim Curry
Saturday night, Sept. 26, New Wave Cabaret brings together performers and fans who became familiar with Curry’s work from completely different places, but who now share the added weight of celebrating it after his death.
Orange County moves closer to temporarily banning data centers
Although there was no vote on a moratorium, just a discussion of the idea, commissioners are expected to vote on it Dec. 1.
