By Arsht Center Staff

Miami’s wildly diverse audiences deserve category-defying culture. Live At Knight, a new series of performances in the Adrienne Arsht Center’s acoustically-renowned Knight Concert Hall, aims to please by presenting stars from rock, soul and hip-hop, comedy, literature and current events.

From the inaugural season’s lineup, which starts in October:

• The Florida premiere of Idle Warship, the buzz-worthy hip-hop/electro duo act of Brooklyn rapper Talib Kweli and longtime collaborator Res, a Billboard Dance chart-topping artist and model, on Oct. 19. Accompanying them will be a nine-piece chamber orchestra headed by local conductor and composer Sam Hyken, who has played and taught at New World Symphony and Miami Symphony Orchestra.
• The Arsht Center debut on Oct. 26 of Brazilian superstar Lenine, performing hits from his highly-acclaimed career, including award-winning favorites “Ninguém Faz Idéia” and “Martelo Bigorna,” as well as new songs from his tenth album, Chão, which is marked by intriguing, unconventional sounds like a canary’s chirp, a kettle’s whistle, a child’s heartbeat, waterfalls and a hypnotic digital ping-pong noise courtesy of a Facebook chat.
• Grammy Award-winning Spanish Gitano singer Diego el Cigala returning from his sold-out performance last fall to captivate a new audience on Nov. 10 with his groundbreaking blend of bolero, Argentine tango, Latin jazz and flamenco.
• Calypso Rose, the “Queen of Calypso,” kick-starting Trinidad & Tobago’s Carnival on Feb. 9, 2013, when she performs the Calypso anthem “Fire in Meh Wire” and her other hits.
• The roof-raising music of Kodo on its “One Earth Tour 2013: Legend” on March 9, 2013. The explosive power of these 24 masters of the ancient tradition of taiko drumming is a spectacle of sound, color, dance and martial art movement.
• Esperanza Spalding, the “Best New Artist” Grammy Award winner of 2011, fusing jazz, neo-soul and world music on April 19, 2013, when the talented bassist, vocalist and composer performs brilliant compositions from her new release, Radio Music Society, accompanied by conceptual music videos.

The Live At Knight concert series will be performed at Knight Concert Hall Live At Knight tickets are already on sale to Arsht Center members. Tickets to Diego el Cigala became available to the general public on Aug. 6. Tickets to remaining performances are available to the general public starting Sept. 8. Info: 305-949-6722, www.arshtcenter.org.