Things to do in Calgary this week: September 6–12

This week splits cleanly: rain dominates Sunday through Tuesday, with Monday the soggiest day of the stretch, then Wednesday clears enough to breathe before Friday turns cool and grey again. It is not a week to bank on outdoor plans, but it is a week to lean into live music, comedy, and the kind of indoor gathering that makes a rainy September feel intentional rather than trapped.

Sunday night at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, Undertale: The Determination Symphony brings an orchestral interpretation of the indie game's soundtrack to life. If you have played it, you know the score carries the game's entire emotional weight; if you have not, this is a genuinely compelling reason to spend an evening in a room full of people who have. The 8 p.m. show on September 6 is the kind of event that sells out quietly and leaves people talking about it for months.

Monday, despite the rain and a daytime high barely above 10 degrees, brings two serious draws. Tinariwen, the Tuareg collective from Mali and Algeria who pioneered desert blues, plays the Palace Theatre at 8 p.m. starting at $35. Their guitar work is hypnotic and propulsive, a sound that has influenced everyone from Foo Fighters to The Black Lips; Monday is a proper night to sit in a warm theatre and let their music wash over you. That same evening, the Deep Dark Woods, the Canadian folk band from Saskatoon, play the Calgary Folk Music Festival. Both are sturdy reasons to get out on the worst weather day of the week.

Wednesday clears almost entirely—overcast, yes, but a real daytime high of 25 degrees and barely any rain. If you have been cooped up through the soggy start of the week, this is the night to move. Grab dinner somewhere with a room you actually want to sit in; Gogi Korean Kitchen on Edmonton Trail or Vintage Chophouse and Tavern on 1st Street SW will both feel welcoming after a stretch of grey mornings.

Friday and Saturday flip cold again—highs near 11 degrees and overcast both days—so plan accordingly. That is when Caroline Rhea and Mark Normand anchor the comedy scene. Rhea, best known for Sabrina the Teenage Witch and voicing Linda on Phineas and Ferb, plays the Gateway with two shows on September 11 and 12. Normand, an American stand-up who got his start in New Orleans in 2006, runs five shows at the Laugh Shop over the same two nights. Both are sharp enough to justify a Friday or Saturday night indoors. Amos Gill, an Australian comedian and radio presenter, also plays Bella Concert Hall on Saturday at 8 p.m.

Monster Jam rolls into GMC Stadium on September 11 and 12 if you are looking for something louder and more kinetic—the live motorsport event has been the standard since 1992.

If you have a single evening to commit, Monday at the Palace Theatre for Tinariwen is the call: a world-class live experience on the week's worst weather day, which is exactly when you need one most.