Contrary to popular belief, Labor Day does not signal the end of summer, rather the annual ritual on Art Hill, the SLSO free concert is summer’s swan song. The celebratory event signals the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s season opener. 2025 rings in the Gateway City’s milestone 2025/26 146th season on Wednesday, September 17th. The festivities begin at 7pm. Fireworks will emblazon the skies over Forest Park’s Grand Basin to top of the night.
Read MoreSince 2017, OxFest has donated more than $322,000 to local charities that help and support children. Providing scholarships for local high school students; grants for teachers to improve their classrooms; and helping impoverished rural families with children receive the healthcare they need, the OxFest Music Festival is expected to add thousands of dollars to the causes. Held this year on the Washington Fairgrounds in Washington, MO on Saturday, September 20th, gates open at 11:30am. Music begins at 12pm.
Read MoreOne hundred years after first opening its doors, the building known as Powell Symphony Hall has a new $140 million, 64,000 square foot complex and it has a new name, the Jack C. Taylor Music Center, named after the late founder of Enterprise Holdings. With opening weekend concerts from September 26-28, the public will get to see what these millions of dollars have wrought. The result is simply spectacular and it consists of two very distinct parts: Powell Hall and the new Snøhetta-designed addition. Combined you have the Jack C. Taylor Music Center. Details here.
Read MoreFall is in the air. Can’t you feel it? Yes, the calendar still says August, but Mother Nature says otherwise. In true St. Louis fashion, she flipped the script on us again and the weather went from a hot and humid 97 one week to 72 degrees the next, with not a humid in sight. And the nights. Once the moon makes his nightly debut during this faux fall, the temps dip into the 50’s. Sugar plum sparks dance above bonfires. Hoodies and sweaters are donned. Suddenly, it feels like fall is here. And not a moment too soon. Because Sophisticated Living’s September/October issue is here.
Read MoreMUSE: The Styled Course, is an intimate, one-night-only fashion and culinary experience and couture-inspired dinner where fashion meets flavor. Happening October 2, 2025, at 21C Museum Hotel St. Louis, it is a production of Brainchild Next. MUSE pairs Chef Bonnie Moore, Executive Chef of Idol Wolf, with acclaimed designer Shanna Britta for a four-course dinner inspired by fashion, styled with intention.
Read MoreThanks to patron of the arts Mary Strauss, the Missouri Historical Society will soon become the steward of an extraordinary private collection of Josephine Baker memorabilia. This generous charitable bequest from the longtime St. Louis philanthropist ensures that the legacy of the legendary entertainer and civil rights activist– born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis’ Mill Creek neighborhood– will be preserved and shared for generations to come. The full scope of the bequest, one of the largest of its kind to the organization, was publicly revealed during a ceremony on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, at the Missouri History Museum.
Read MoreJust revealed is the complete 25/26 season of The Rep. The start of the season begins just after Labor Day with the sharp-witted fresh comedy The Cottage. The Virginia Jackson Browning Theatre (mainstage productions) run September 3, 2025 through April 2, 2026. In addition to The Cottage, the mainstage season feature The Woman in Black, Emma, Primary Trust, and Gypsy. Also on the mainstage one night only is The Ugly Duckling, the final performance from Imaginary Theatre Company. The productions at the Emerson Studio at the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts 25/26 feature The Brothers Size, Mrs. Krishnan’s Party, and The Enigmatist.
Read MoreInternationally acclaimed photographer and Sony Artisan of Imagery Andy Katz mesmerizes global audiences with his breathtaking photography that explores the intersection of nature, light, and raw beauty. His lifelong passion for photography, nature, and storytelling propels his ongoing quest to unite and inspire through the lens of his camera. What started as a childhood fascination quickly evolved into a profound calling that would take him across continents, to over 90 countries, capturing the beauty and mystery of far-flung destinations. See more.
Read MoreThe St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) and the Fabulous Fox announced that more than $350,000 has been raised to support the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis’ Disaster Relief Fund, a joint initiative that included a benefit concert on June 29 at the Fabulous Fox and a related online donation effort.
Read MoreFor ten years now, the institution (and yes, they can officially call it an institution at the decade mark) has lifted high the banner and has been the siren call that beckons all to bask in the brilliance of St. Louis’ adopted son, and arguably the greatest playwright in the nation, the inimitable Tennessee Williams. This month and next, the festival shifts into high gear with events at the St. Louis County Library, the Missouri History Museum, a CWE mansion, and the eleven day festival itself in the Grand Center Arts District.
Read MoreAs you globe trot this summer, you may notice that the planet is getting warmer. 2024 was the warmest year on record since 1880. Record-setting temps have swept the country in June, and St. Louis is no exception with the heat index soaring to 105 degrees or more. It’s about to heat up a whole lot more, especially when the July/August issue of Sophisticated Living St. Louis hits your mailbox, or you pick it up at one of our advertisers. If you’re reading this, you’re probably from the Show-Me State, and as always we SHOW YOU the best in fashion, travel, cuisine, architecture, design, and philanthropic endeavors to be, well, for lack of a better word...seen.
Read MoreOn June 5th, Joan Lipkin’s “Queer Writes 2025” at the Missouri History Museum helped launch Pride Month this year. In its third outing, the community was showcased. In 2023, the award-winning theatre artist, Lipkin, founded this out-of-the-box literary event of local LGBTQ+ writers or those with St Louis roots. It was the most ambitious production to date. “Queer Writes” is part of the Missouri History Museum’s Pride Month programming as well as its Thursday Night at the Museum series.
Read MoreThe national observation of Juneteeth commences with the opening of The Missouri Historical Society Tuskegee Airmen: America’s Freedom Flyers at Soldiers Memorial Military Museum on June 19. The exhibit will run through November 2, 2025. This exhibit tells the story of the first Black pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps and their courageous service during World War II. Through images and interpretive panels, Tuskegee Airmen: America’s Freedom Flyers celebrates the resilience and impact of these trailblazing servicemen who fought for freedom abroad and equality at home. Details here.
Read MoreThe St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) and the Fabulous Fox are holding a special concert fundraiser to support the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis’s ongoing relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts following the May 16 tornado. This collaborative effort features the SLSO and members of its two resident choruses performing a variety of music on at the Fabulous Fox at 3:00pm, Sunday, June 29. Gospel and R&B singer and Grammy Award-winning vocalist BeBe Winans joins the orchestra and choruses for this community-centered special event.
Read MoreArtist Jeremy booth recently wrapped up his solo show, “Sweat and Blood,” at the Square One Gallery in St. Louis’ Central West End. His digital art painting in acrylic have been seen at the Marfa Invitational, and featured in Christie's 2024 Beyond the Screen exhibition and auction at Art Basel and a group exhibition at Sotheby’s NYC. His multidisciplinary work has navigated through the “Wild West” of NFTs en route to capturing the nostalgic-laden landscape of the American West on large-scale canvases.
Read MoreTo kick off Pride Month 2025, That Uppity Theatre Company and Missouri History Museum will present a third Free “Queer Writes Showcase of LGBTQ+ Writers” on Thursday, June 5. Part of the goal of Queer Writes is to amplify the presence of St. Louis based or connected LGBTQ+ writers, to expand the circle and variety of representation with each version and to build on the great and historic literary legacy of St. Louis. Learn more here.
Read MoreJust a day after the Shakespeare Festival St. Louis held their 25th Anniversary Gala, winds of the devastating May 16, 2025, EF3 tornado swept through Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park. Now, the show must go on. On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, just weeks after the tragedy, lovers of the Bard, legions strong will once again march across the verdant green grass of the forest in the heart of St. Louis. They will come once again, as they have been for 25 years, to see the next quarter century of the Festival begin. The Festival continues through summer.
Read MoreThe Missouri Chamber Music Festival presents Season 15: the spirit that moves us June 9 - 20, 2025. The four concerts of the festival take a look at the spirit behind inspiration. What sparks them to create, express themselves and connect? MOCM Festival artists share diverse programs relating to this theme. Works by Olivier Messiaen, Debussy, Turina take center stage, including the world premiere performance of “Hey Mr. Drummachine Man” by composer Eric Moe for drumset and piano. Concerts take place at Wash U. and Webster University.
Read MoreIn some ways, Fashion Group International St. Louis’ Watch Party outshone the NYC extravaganza with its homegrown originality. 150 local fashionistas showed up and showed out at the Ritz Carlton in tandem with the Met Gala in NYC on May 5th. Unlike the Big Apple’s event, the St. Louis rendition had a runway fashion show featuring the best of the best. Feast upon the pics here from the evening’s buffet of Superfine: Tailoring Black Style inspired by the Black Dandy. It truly was THE Red Carpet event of the year.
Read MoreClimbing from usher almost 30 years ago, like mountain of stairs at the theater, to President and CEO of the Muny, Kwafe Coleman has risen. He now leads the charge for the world renowned St. Louis Muny Theater in Forest Park. Built in 1915, the amphitheater holds 11,000 neighbors, and has the distinction of having 1,500 free seats, and produces Broadway-level musicals each summer. Read here how this first-generation Ghanian from Bellefontaine Neighbors in North County hoists the banner for the storied St. Louis institution.
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