This week

Nik Bärtsch brings his quartet Ronin, known for minimalist zen-funk grooves, to Exil on Hardstrasse for a Monday night set. Doors at 20:00, start at 20:30.

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The band Journeys plays jazz-funk fusion at Monday Jazz in Restaurant Europa, 19:30 to 22:00, tickets from CHF 30.

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Journalist and author Max Küng reads from his new novel Supertoskana at Buchhandlung Kapitel 10, 20:00 to 21:30, CHF 25 entry.

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Band Syvään plays doom metal at the small Provitreff club on Sihlquai, starting at 20:00 – a rare booking for the genre in Zurich.

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A free 30-minute lunchtime talk at the University of Zurich's Botanical Garden on cryptic fern species that look almost identical to each other. Open to everyone.

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Prof. em. Tokuda Kazuo personally guides visitors through illustrated Japanese hand scrolls (emaki) at the opening of this new Japan Room presentation at the Rietberg, on view until January 2027.

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Canadian-Chinese producer Yu Su plays ambient electronic sounds at the Landesmuseum, part of the free Rundfunk.fm festival. Starts at 17:00.

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Five days of readings, performances and music at the Zentralwäscherei exploring women's family histories and diaspora life. Runs from 1 to 5 September.

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Two full ensembles share one stage at Theater Stok, as Pali Chandra and LaDina Bucher bring North Indian Kathak into dialogue with Spanish Flamenco.

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Americana legend Emmylou Harris performs at Theater 11, one of her few Swiss dates this year.

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Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood plays the Volkshaus with support from Imelda May, bringing classic rock to the Stauffacher neighbourhood. Starts at 20:00.

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US singer-songwriter The White Buffalo, known from the soundtracks of Sons of Anarchy and Californication, brings country and Americana to Kaufleuten. Starts at 20:00.

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Author Roger Rhyner reads his new Geissbock Charly story aloud aboard a moving tram from Bellevue at 2.30pm, an unusual family reading.

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The free Rundfunk.fm festival continues at the Landesmuseum, with Thomas Herb and Ian Pooley on the decks tonight, playing tech-house and house.

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At St. Felix und Regula church, anyone can join an open choir on the spot and sing pop and yodel songs together with no rehearsal required.

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Jason Patterson and Benjamin Delahaye perform live English-language stand-up at ROOM21, a solid pick for anyone who prefers comedy in English.

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Ralph Bosshard and Rafael Lutz discuss the internal challenges facing Swiss neutrality at Volkshaus, CHF 30 entry.

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Nicola Genovese performs his solo piece Infinite Stage at Cabaret Voltaire, the birthplace of Dada, in a short evening slot.

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At the Rote Fabrik, Diana Rojas Feile performs a free piece about storytelling as resistance, a one-off evening south of the city centre.

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House of Hermess mixes circus, drag and cabaret at the Zirkusquartier on ZirQus festival's opening night, playfully questioning gender stereotypes.

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The Zürcher Symphoniker accompany a violinist who plays while balancing on a slackline, a musical story for children at the Tonhalle with an unusual acrobatic twist.

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More than 120 German wines to taste in the Kunsthaus lecture hall, from current vintages to aged rarities, poured by the winemakers themselves.

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Openair am Greifensee marks its 25th anniversary; the Thursday day pass gets you several live acts on the main stage at Schlosswiese, an easy first taste of the festival.

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The Ethnographic Museum opens its exhibition «Neubenennen – Menschen, Dinge, Orte» with an evening reception, the renaming of people, objects and places running through the show.

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The Ig Nobel Prize ceremony leaves Harvard for the first time and lands at the Kongresshaus: ten oddball research awards, live music and the paper-airplane ritual, all in English.

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The ZSC Lions face Schwenninger Wild Wings at Swiss Life Arena in a preseason friendly, a low-key look at the team before the championship starts.

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A musical stage show at the Zirkusquartier turns historical suffering into an act of resistance through song and movement, one of only two performances of this production in Zurich.

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Northern Irish singer-songwriter Foy Vance plays alternative rock at the small Theater Spirgarten, an international touring act in an intimate room.

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Two-day metal festival in Hüttikon just outside Zurich, kicking off Friday midday. The obvious pick this weekend if you are into metal.

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A performance for ten people at a time, where the room reacts to your movement with light and sound. Free, unusual and only 30 minutes long.

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Neighbourhood baking afternoon at Quartierzentrum Bäckeranlage, open to everyone for four hours. Low-key, free community life rather than a product.

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Piano, mezzo-soprano and baritone at Ortsmuseum Küsnacht, part of the museum's special exhibition on Benz. Free entry, collection only.

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Rapper Stress talks about his new book on resilience, Wie mit Stress umgehen, and his album How To Heal, right inside the Musik Hug Vinyl Station.

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Swedish singer-songwriter Kalben brings her folk-rock to Plaza, one of the few Zurich stages built for a show this size.

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Crime writer Dror Mishani in conversation, in English, at Orell Füssli Bellevue, moderated by Netta Ahituv with German passages read by Dorothee Roth.

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Baze plays his last Zurich show of the Brot tour at the intimate Flux Bar, up close rather than in a big hall.

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Season opener at Studio Bar with Acid Pauli, the producer known well beyond Zurich for his ambient and electronic sets.

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Autumn edition of the design market at Frau Gerolds Garten, with local designers selling handmade one-off pieces to browse and buy.

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Adriatique, the internationally touring Zurich techno duo, play a daytime set right at the Dolder ice rink and outdoor pool, alongside Valena.

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Ten DJs take over a ferry on Lake Zurich departing from Horgen for a techno rave on the water, an unusual setting for a long daytime party.

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Outdoor festival at the Albis golf driving range with live sets from Andrea Bignasca and The Lost Waves, plus a salsa workshop, DJs and on-site camping.

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52 Zurich museums stay open from 6pm to 2am, one CHF 25 ticket covers every venue plus city transport. A rare chance to hop between big houses and odd little collections in a single night.

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Part of the Long Night of Museums at ETH: try your hand at neurosurgery, steering a catheter through vessel models to remove a simulated blood clot.

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Closing event for the exhibition: Amila Redžić, Anja Lapčević, Milena Patagonia and MC Hero discuss diasporic music heritage, followed by a live set from the all-women band Haimos. Free entry.

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Four teams improvise scenes ranging from dance to grand opera in English at Theater Ida, with the audience picking the winner. No German needed.

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Five circus artists at Zirkusquartier Zürich perform Euphoria, a colourful acrobatic show inspired by a real sailing trip, moving through time and space.

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Five Swiss musicians blend brass band sound with driving bass at Gasthaus Albisgütli, known for high-energy shows mixing yodel with dance beats.

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At the Viaduktfäscht neighbourhood festival, Swedish band Friska Viljor play live at Bogen F under Zurich's Viadukt arches, indie rock in a local street-party setting.

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EXPLICIT at Kauz is a sex-positive queer dance party that doubles as a counter-protest against the censorship of queer culture.

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Up to 100 dogs race in timed heats across several categories at Hundesport Riedthof in Regensdorf, with a festival food tent running, Sunday 9:30am to 3pm.

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This Czech and Slovak community day at GZ Riesbach runs workshops, theatre, face painting and a tasting of Moravian wines, all day Sunday from 10am to 5pm.

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The first-ever Lettenparkfest brings miniature train rides, live music and a food tent to Lettenpark, Sunday from 11am to 6pm.

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Zora Eichenberger combines unicycling, acrobatic dance and invented languages in a short circus piece at Zirkusquartier Zürich, Sunday at 3:30pm.

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The StradivariQuartett and Andrea Wiesli open the anniversary season with French chamber music by Fauré and Franck at the Tonhalle, Sunday afternoon from 4:15pm.

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Cardinal Complex opens its anniversary season at St. Anna Kapelle with a program tracing Mozart's early London influences, free entry, Sunday at 5pm.

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Albert Louw hosts a free English-language storytelling night at ROBIN's Coffee, where storytellers share true personal tales, Sunday from 7pm.

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Organist Wolfgang Sieber performs alongside an orchestra of 21 accordions plus clarinet, saxophone, double bass and bandoneon, Sunday from 7pm to 8:15pm.

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The Oerlikon Comedy season opens with Leila Ladari, Judith Erdin and Swiss Comedy Award nominee Pavel Zborovskiy at Brauerei Oerlikon, Sunday from 7:30pm.

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