9 essential Atlanta arts events this weekend

Each week, ArtsATL curates a selection of the most exciting arts and culture events happening in Atlanta this weekend, highlighting nine must-see experiences. 

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Thursday

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

The orchestra performs works by Hector Berlioz, featuring mezzo-soprano Juliette Mey. But the night’s centerpiece comes as the ASO Chorus joins Music Director Nathalie Stutzmann and the orchestra for Gabriel Fauré’s hauntingly beautiful Requiem Mass. Concerts are on November 12, November 14 and November 15.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Things are beginning to feel a bit like Christmas with the return of this annual production at the Center for Puppetry Arts. The holiday classic, a faithful adaptation of the 1964 stop-motion animated special, runs from November 11 through December 27.

Friday

Portals

Hyatt Cottage at Legacy Park hosts this group exhibition curated by Larry Holland and presented by 404 Found ATL in collaboration with the Decatur Arts Alliance. It will feature local artists exploring gateways between worlds, memories, perceptions and possibilities. It’s accompanied by Ephemera, a solo exhibition by Holland. The exhibitions open with a reception from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on November 13 and will be on view through December 19.

Kenny Banks Jr.

Jazz at All Saints’ continues its third season on November 13 with a concert featuring this Atlanta resident and dynamic jazz pianist and composer. After years of backing other musicians, his debut album, East Atlanta Village, was released in 2024.

Orville Peck

That mysterious masked man will play the Tabernacle on November 13 as part of a tour supporting his fourth album, Mule, which was released in mid-September. He’s also in the recent film Street Fighter and made his Broadway debut in 2025 in Cabaret.

Saturday

Harry Connick Jr.

The 35th edition of the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta presents the New Orleans jazz vocalist in conversation with Joe Alterman, Neranenah director and renowned jazz pianist and composer. Connick will discuss his book, Babe: Elaboratio, which pays a heartfelt tribute to his mother, Anita-Francis Livingston Connick, lovingly known as Babe. The conversation happens at 8 p.m. on November 14 at the Marcus Jewish Community Center.

Julio Ceballos: Beholder

Cat Eye Creative will host Ceballos’ debut solo exhibition, opening on November 14 and continuing through December 6.

José Ibarra Rizo: La Próxima Pisca

The Hudgens Center for Art & Learning presents new work made over the past two years as part of Rizo’s ongoing photographic project exploring migration, identity and belonging in the American South. It opens on November 14 and will be on view through January 23.

Sunday

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

This phenomenal blues guitarist has captured the imagination of blues enthusiasts as one of the most exciting next-generation performers. The 27-year-old Ingram released his first album in 2019 on Alligator Records (home to Atlanta bluesman Tinsley Ellis), which caught the attention of performers ranging from Buddy Guy to Jason Isbell to Sir Elton John. He’ll play Variety Playhouse on November 15

More things to do this weekend and beyond

Among the first of many Nutcrackers coming to Atlanta, the North Atlanta Dance Theatre’s 23rd season of The Nutcracker features a cast of 125, including international guest artists, from November 14 through November 16 at Gas South Theater in Duluth … Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and guitarist Tab Benoit, who has built a remarkable 30+ year career on the foundation of his gritty and soulful Delta swamp blues, plays on Variety Playhouse at 8 p.m. on November 11, with Jesse Dayton opening the show … Join the Alliance Theatre’s Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young Series on a floor-to-floor adventure, meeting and celebrating with a variety of friends who all call The Apartment Building home in Knock, Knock. It’s on the Selig Family Black Box Theatre stage from November 14 through December 23 … A holiday tradition continues with A Christmas Carol on Alliance Theatre’s Coca-Cola Stage from November 14 through December 27 … Swan Coach House Gallery’s annual small works exhibition, Little Things, opens with a reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on November 12. It features hundreds of one-of-a-kind, small works from more than 65 artists from Georgia and the Southeast and will be on view through January 7 … Nearly three years ago, Atlanta filmmaker and longtime technologist Taz Lake began developing an AI thriller inspired by emerging technology and deepfakes. As those once-futuristic concepts become part of everyday life, his independent mystery thriller, Artist I Am, will make its world premiere November 14 at Atlanta’s historic Tara Theatre.