The Acansa Arts Festival of the South is set to return this fall with an expansive lineup marking a major milestone. This year will be the festival’s 10th, having launched in 2014 and skipped 2020.
Slated for Sept. 4-20, the fest spans three weeks and the whole of the metro with a broad range of events, including award-winning performers, beloved local artists, eye-popping acts and family-friendly activities.
Without further ado, here’s what to expect at the 2025 festival.
Funkanites
Sept. 4, The Hall
On opening night of Acansa 2025, Funkanites raise the roof and set the rhythm for the festival. This octet of beloved musicians brings a modern edge to ‘60s and ‘70s Afrobeat, soul and funk with bold brass and deep ooves. It’s time to get your funk on with $10 tickets to celebrate Acansa’s 10th festival! Cash bar and food truck onsite.
Frisson
Sept. 5, ASO Stella Boyle Smith Music Center
Hailed as “the classical group that does it all,” Frisson melds technical tradition and genre-bending innovation to create just what their French eponym inspires: “a shiver or a thrill, a sudden feeling of excitement.” Joining Patrick Hopkins (cello), Avi Nagin (violin) and Chieh-Fan Yiu (viola) are virtuoso oboist Tom Gallant and pianist Marika Bournaki, who The Huffington Post described as “the Celine Dion of classical” for her dazzling vivacity.
Koresh Dance Company
Sept. 7, UA-PTC CHARTS
Artistic director and choreographer Ronen Koresh — known for inventive choreography that is at once tender yet passionate, humorous and rhythmic — takes us on a fantastical adventure with a program created especially for Arkansas audiences. Accompanied onstage at times by composer and operatic soprano Sage DeAgro-Ruopp, the dance company’s superb precision and dazzling mastery of ballet, modern and jazz promise an unforgettable performance of both the familiar and the new.
Jazz at the Joint
Sept. 11, Birdies Cabaret Theater & Lounge
Internationally renowned veteran sax man Jerry Weldon joins Arkansas’ venerated guitarist Ted Ludwig, Hammond B3 master Pat Bianchi and unwavering percussionist Steve Pruitt for a superb evening of live jazz music. Acansa is delighted to partner with Jazz at the Joint to present such an iconic quartet at Birdies in the Argenta Arts District.
“Broadway’s Next Hit Musical”
Sept. 12, Argenta Contemporary Theatre
Stay tuned for “The Phony Awards,” the original improvised awards show! You and your fellow audience members suggest songs, and master improvisers create a spontaneous evening of music, comedy and a ton of laughs. Everyone votes for their favorite song, and the cast turns this Phony Award-winning song into a show chock-full of memorable characters, witty dialogue, plot twists galore. Don’t miss the next great American musical — it could be written by you!
Family Arts Day
Sept. 13, Argenta Arts District
In partnership with UA-PTC and the Argenta Downtown Council, Acansa welcomes all ages to creative, hands-on activities for the young and young at heart. Mömandpöp, a Parent’s Choice Award-winning kids’ comedy and music duo, is at 10:30 a.m. Little Rock Winds will perform at 1 p.m. This year’s FAD is held during Dogtown Throwdown, a popular community event that brings together families and friends to celebrate the weekend — and Acansa’s 10th festival. Several blocks of Main Street are closed to automobiles during Dogtown Throwdown, which includes a Big Dam Horns concert Saturday evening. Argenta’s restaurants serve indoors and outdoors Friday afternoon through Saturday night. No matter your age, the arts will make your day.
Gospel Brunch
Sept. 14, The Venue at Westwind
With a nod to festivals past, the Gospel Brunch is back! Join us for an uplifting afternoon of soulful sounds from the award-winning St. Mark Baptist Church Choir members. Harmony and hope and a sumptuous fare will fill you up on this #SentimentalSunday. Advance ticket purchase required.
The Westerlies
Sept. 18, ASO Stella Boyle Smith Music Center
From Carnegie Hall to Coachella, and now in central Arkansas, The Westerlies embody the precision of a string quartet, the audacity of a rock band and the charm of a family sing-along. Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands on trumpet, and Andy Clausen and Addison Maye-Saxon on trombone have explored jazz, roots and chamber music influences across 10 critically-acclaimed albums. Creating music that NPR calls “folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous,” The Westerlies are blowing through for one night only.
Delita Martin: Visual Storyteller
In partnership with Potluck & Poison Ivy
Sept. 18, Birdies Cabaret Theater & Lounge
Visual artist Delita Martin reconstructs the identities of Black women and their roles. Through multiple mediums she builds a visual language of signs and symbols found in everyday life, from slavery through modern times, to offer a different perspective of marginalized Black women. Join Acansa and Potluck and Poison Ivy as Martin shares how the intersections of art and life have guided her from childhood inspiration through her time as a lecturer at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and on to the exhibition of her work in more than 28 museums and institutions worldwide.
Delita Martin Solo Exhibition
Sept. 19, Acansa Gallery (on display through Oct. 11)
Visit Acansa Gallery to experience the depth and scope of art created by Delita Martin, a fine arts printmaker known internationally for integrating letterpress, lithography, intaglio and relief printing in her work. Through a visual language of signs, symbols and portraiture, Martin explores the role of Black women through time, adding perspective to their lives within familial and community constructs.
Read on: See Martin’s work on this month’s cover of Little Rock Soirée and the Artist Spotlight.
Slocan Ramblers
Sept. 19, CALS Ron Robinson Theater
Touring across Canada and the U.S. this summer from their home in Toronto, Ontario, the fleet-fingered Slocan Ramblers share their impeccable bluegrass musicianship and tight harmonies on the final Friday evening of Acansa’s 2025 festival. Known for passionate live performances that bring listeners to their feet, this award-winning band takes bluegrass back to its earliest Appalachian roots and pulls the genre forward in fascinating new directions.
Hispanic Heritage Festival
In partnership with Seis Puentes, Argenta Arts District and North Little Rock Tourism
Sept. 20, Argenta Plaza
Celebrate the arts and the contributions of our local Hispanic community, artists, music and culinary scene with authentic food vendors, family activities and live entertainment. Multi-instrumentalists Larry & Joe, a Venezuelan joropo maestro and a Grammy-nominated bluegrass star, perform at 5:30 p.m. The Argenta Vibe series continues at 7:30 p.m. with Pura Coco, a Latina alternative R&B and soul artist who blends the grit and soul of her NYC upbringing with the warmth and rhythm of her Southern influence in Springdale, Arkansas. She’ll perform backed by her full band and DJ Raquel.
Event descriptions provided by Acansa.
Tickets for the 10th Acansa Arts Festival of the South are available now, including individual shows and festival passes. Select events are free, and students 18 and younger are free of charge (or a lower fee when meals are included).
To learn more about the arts festival, visit the Acansa website and follow along on Facebook and Instagram for the latest. Call 501.663.2287 to reach the box office or email info@acansa.org.
More stage news: Little Rock’s Fall & Winter 2025 Performing Arts Calendar