Category: Charlotte, North Carolina Local News

You know the drill: Either you or one of your friends finds out that a concert right in your collective wheelhouse is coming to a big stage in Charlotte, and someone starts a group chat.

“Did you see so-and-so is gonna play at such-and-such venue? What do you think — are we going?”

And if the answer is yes, that thread quickly turns into a full-blown plan involving dinner, drinks, Ubers and Venmo payments.

To be clear: We’re not breaking any news here — these shows have all been announced. What we’ve done instead is put together a carefully curated breakdown of the Charlotte-bound stadium spectacles, nostalgia-fueled reunions and TikTok favorites that will matter most in 2026.

The ‘all of your friends will be there’ shows

Zach Bryan — Saturday, April 18 at Bank of America Stadium: The “Something in the Orange” singer-songwriter-superstar is at the absolute peak of his powers. It’ll be fascinating to watch him adapt his DIY brand of country and Americana — which has always felt tailor-made for large nightclubs and small concert halls — for 70,000-plus fans. The last time he was in Charlotte? July 2021, when he played a benefit concert at The Fillmore that featured a guest appearance by then-Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey as his pianist.

Bruno Mars — Wednesday, April 29 at Bank of America Stadium: With no Taylor Swift stop on the calendar, this is about the biggest tour Charlotte could have hoped for in 2026. Few pop stars are as obsessed with live performance — from his band’s horn section to the throwback showmanship — and he’s one of the few artists here with a recent Top 10 hit (“I Just Might”). His last Charlotte appearance came in 2017, when he packed Spectrum Center with a hit-after-hit set that felt closer to a Vegas revue than a typical arena show.

Post Malone & Jelly Roll — Monday, June 9 at Bank of America Stadium: Cowboy boots and face tattoos will be on proud display at this co-headlining mega-show, which teams up two of the most successful artists blending country, hip-hop and crossover pop. The tour was announced just hours after the 2026 Grammy Awards ceremony, where Post Malone performed a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne alongside Slash and Chad Smith, and Jelly Roll walked away with three trophies — a reminder of just how far both artists have climbed.

Megan Moroney — Monday, July 14 at Spectrum Center: In just a few years, she’s gone from viral breakout to one of country’s most dependable young headliners. The 28-year-old’s first show in our uptown arena will come just 10 months after she sold out Bojangles Coliseum. As with that show, expect coordinated outfits, pre-concert photo shoots and plenty of “We’ve-been-here-since-Day-One” energy. (Some fans still talk about her early club shows like they were secret discoveries.) Just be aware that this show is sold out, too, and secondhand prices are rising steadily.

Ed Sheeran — Friday, Oct. 17 at Bank of America Stadium: One of pop’s most recognizable stars also remains one of the few modern artists who can fill a stadium without relying on massive production or backup performers. Armed with little more than a loop pedal, a guitar and a seemingly endless catalog of hits — “Shape of You,” “Perfect,” “Thinking Out Loud,” “Bad Habits,” “Photograph,” “Shivers,” “Castle on the Hill,” to name a few — he turns his shows into giant sing-a-longs that feel closer to open-mic nights than blockbuster tours.

For the TikTok and Gen Z crowds

bbno$ — Sunday, March 8 at The Fillmore Charlotte: The Canadian rapper has never been a major force on U.S. radio, but he’s become a cult hero in rooms like this thanks to fun, rowdy live shows built around viral, self-aware pop-rap hits like “Lalala,” “Edamame” and “it boy” — plus his absurdly funny cookbook giveaways. This sold-out Fillmore stop should be one of the loudest, loosest and most meme-able nights of the year.

TWICE — Monday, March 31 at Spectrum Center: For the uninitiated, this is one of K-pop’s most reliable hit machines, a group with a catalog that spans bubbly pop anthems (“Cheer Up,” “TT,” “Fancy”) and slicker recent singles (“The Feels,” “Talk That Talk”). But the nine-member South Korean girl group may be most familiar to some viewers through the animated Netflix hit movie “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” which features a remixed end-credits version of “Takedown” performed by members Jeongyeon, Jihyo and Chaeyoung.

Zara Larsson — Wednesday, April 4 at The Fillmore Charlotte: The veteran-but-still-young (she’s 27) Swedish dance-pop star spent much of last year opening arena shows for Tate McRae’s mega-tour. Now Larsson gets her own chance to shine, doing so in a much clubbier setting built around dazzling, brightly colored outfits and eye-popping lighting. She’s never played a show in the Carolinas before — and it’s been sold out for months.

Peso Pluma & Tito Double P — Friday, April 25 at Truliant Amphitheater: The “Dinastía Tour” arrives in Charlotte at a moment when regional Mexican music has fully crossed into the mainstream, with Peso Pluma leading the charge. Blending corridos — traditional narrative ballads — with trap and pop hooks, he has played a central role in turning what was once a niche genre into a streaming and touring powerhouse, while Tito Double P represents the next wave rising alongside him. (Dinastía, for the record, is Spanish for “dynasty.”)

Yungblud — Wednesday, June 4 at Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre: Blending pop-punk, emo and confessional alt-rock, the UK-born singer has become a spokesperson of sorts for fans who grew up online and found connection through music — a role underscored by the Grammy recognition he’s earned in recent years. His 2024 single “Zombie,” which featured actress Florence Pugh in its remarkable music video, heralded a more vulnerable turn in his songwriting and is likely to serve as the emotional closer to his set.

Summer Walker — Tuesday, June 10 at Spectrum Center: The only previous time the Atlanta-born R&B singer has performed in Charlotte was in 2018, when she played The Fillmore after starting that year working as a house cleaner. This show — on one of the city’s biggest stages — marks a dramatic leap for Walker, who taught herself guitar by watching YouTube tutorials before breaking through with emotional hits like “Girls Need Love,” “Playing Games” and “Session 32,” and becoming one of modern R&B’s most influential voices.

Rainbow Kitten Surprise — Thursday, Sept. 18 at Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre: Few modern indie bands have built as devoted a following as RKS, which formed — and got its famously random name — while its members were students at Appalachian State in Boone. The upper level of Spectrum Center was curtained off for their home-state stop here in 2024, but they should easily pack out this amphitheater with 5,000 fans who’ve fawned over the group’s blend of folk, alternative and pop-rock since the early days.

The ‘soak up the nostalgia’ shows

Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle & Stephanie Mills — Friday, Feb. 13 at Spectrum Center: “The Queens: 4 Legends, 1 Stage” is as much a summit meeting of soul and R&B royalty as it is a concert tour. Their catalogs are full of classics, from Knight’s “Midnight Train to Georgia” and Khan’s “Ain’t Nobody” to LaBelle’s “If Only You Knew” and Mills’s “Never Knew Love Like This Before” — songs that helped define multiple decades of music in those genres. Knight and LaBelle will both be 82 this year, a reminder of their incredible longevity and staying power.

Bow Wow, B2K, Jeremih, Waka Flocka Flame & more — Friday, March 7 at Spectrum Center: The ‘Boys 4 Life Tour’ features an alarmingly stacked bill that also includes Yung Joc, Crime Mob, Dem Franchize Boyz and Pretty Ricky, making for an impressive time capsule for fans who recall when ringtone rap, BET countdowns and burned CDs ruled. Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Amerie is not a boy, but she’ll join the party as the lone female voice on a lineup built almost entirely on throwback hits.

Journey — Wednesday, May 20 at Spectrum Center: This celebration of the 1970s and ’80s rock band’s imprint on modern pop culture could conceivably mark its final Charlotte stop, as the group — fronted by Filipino singer Arnel Pineda — is marketing its 2026 “Final Frontier Tour” as a farewell to the road. But even if this really is the last time it tours live, songs like “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Open Arms” and “Faithfully” will almost certainly keep showing up at weddings, sporting events and karaoke nights for years to come.

AC/DC — Friday, July 11, at Bank of America Stadium: For those about to rock, we salute you — with an onslaught of rock anthems that should rattle teeth, if not the foundations of uptown’s skyscrapers. It’s a long-awaited return, with December 2008 representing their last time in Charlotte. We’re just as eager as anyone to hear live versions of “Thunderstruck,” “Highway to Hell,” “Back in Black” and “You Shook Me All Night Long” — and to see if lead guitarist Angus Young, who’ll be 71, can still pull off his classic duckwalk.

Ne-Yo & Akon — Saturday, July 12, at Truliant Amphitheater: R&B throwback tours will continue to give classic-rock nostalgia a run for its money throughout the summer of 2026, and this double bill taps directly into the mid-2000s era when the genre dominated pop radio. On this night, that means slow jams and club bangers from Ne-Yo’s run of immaculately crafted heartbreak anthems (“So Sick,” “Closer,” “Miss Independent”) and Akon’s West African-influenced pop-rap hooks (“Smack That,” “Lonely,” “Don’t Matter”).

John Mellencamp — Thursday, July 30 at Truliant Amphitheater: The 74-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer behind ’80s staples like “Jack & Diane,” “Pink Houses” and “Small Town” is returning for what stands to be his biggest local show in more than two decades. (His last three appearances here — in 2015, 2019 and 2023 — were all staged at the 2,455-seat Ovens Auditorium.) Mellencamp has promised a career-spanning show that will dig deeper for rarities than usual, including songs he hasn’t played live in years.

Rush — Thursday, Nov. 20, and Saturday, Nov. 22 at Spectrum Center: This is a notable outing for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, who are making their first Charlotte appearance since October 2012. It also marks their first tour since the death of longtime drummer Neil Peart in 2020. Understandably, fans will be eager to see how new drummer Anika Nilles fills in for one of rock’s most revered musicians on songs like “Tom Sawyer” and “Subdivisions.” They’ll also be ready to settle in: Rush shows famously stretch close to three hours.

Wildcard shows worth circling

Los Ángeles Azules — Tuesday, Feb. 25 at Bojangles Coliseum: They’re one of the most iconic Mexican cumbia groups of all time, with nearly 17 million monthly listeners on Spotify and a catalog of cross-generational staples that includes “Cómo Te Voy a Olvidar,” “El Listón de Tu Pelo” and “17 Años.” They’ve also never played a show in the Carolinas before, meaning thousands of fans in Charlotte will get their first chance to take part in the joyful, spontaneous dance parties that are likely to break out all over the venue.

Eric Church — Friday, April 4 at Spectrum Center: Another act with a strong connection to North Carolina, the country star grew up in Caldwell County and has never been shy about repping his home state on and off the stage. That bond was on full display in 2024, when he co-headlined the massive Concert for Carolina benefit at Bank of America Stadium, where he shined — often with just his acoustic guitar — during stripped-down performances of “Springsteen,” “Record Year” and “Drink in My Hand” in front of 80,000 fans.

Cardi B — Saturday, April 12 at Spectrum Center: While her longtime rival Nicki Minaj has drifted into the political arena, Cardi remains firmly committed to the provocative, high-energy hip-hop lane she’s settled into over the past decade. Now a mother of four — she welcomed her latest child in November with boyfriend Stefon Diggs of the New England Patriots — she recently previewed her live show on “Saturday Night Live,” delivering personal, confident and carefully staged performances of “Bodega Baddie” and “ErrTime.”

Mt. Joy — Thursday, April 17 at Truliant Amphitheater: The beloved modern-indie band’s sunny blend of folk, rock and pop makes the leap into full-fledged amphitheater-headliner territory almost exactly a year after a sellout show at the smaller Skyla, where the five-piece played two sets and an encore across more than 2½ sprawling hours. It’s wild to consider how far the group has come since filling Charlotte’s tiny Visulite Theatre in 2018 with Day One fans — and the soaring chorus of its anthemic “Astrovan” echoing through the room.

Sting — Sunday, May 18 at Truliant Amphitheater: A Rock and Roll Hall of Famer for his work as a founding member of The Police, he remains one of the rare rock stars whose solo career carries as much weight as his groundbreaking band’s legacy. This show — his first in Charlotte since playing here with The Police in 2007 — will bridge both of those identities. In some ways, it also serves as a makeup for his canceled co-headlining stadium gig with Billy Joel, scrapped due to the “Piano Man’s” health issues.

Khalid — Sunday, June 15 at Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre: Khalid’s rise happened so quickly in the late 2010s that it’s easy to forget how long he’s already been in the spotlight — and that he became synonymous with the streaming era’s softer, more introspective sound with songs like “Talk” and “Young Dumb & Broke.” This stop is his first in Charlotte since 2018, and while the venue may look like a step down from the much larger Spectrum Center, fans may also see it as a chance to catch him in a more intimate setting again.

Five Finger Death Punch — Thursday, Oct. 16 at Truliant Amphitheater: No act on this list will deliver a heavier, higher-adrenaline live show than this one, which cranks out a blend of groove metal, hard rock and arena-ready hooks that has made it one of the genre’s most reliable touring forces. Every time they come to Charlotte, they draw one of the most intense crowds of the year, with songs like “Jekyll and Hyde” and “Wrong Side of Heaven” igniting full-throttle mosh pits. At the moment, it also serves as Truliant’s season finale.