Psst! Hey, holiday shoppers in Charlotte: Want to buy some 2026 concert tickets?
When it comes to upcoming Charlotte concerts, our holiday wish list includes footnotes better classified as holiday wishful thinking, but here goes: We’d be keen on this fair city getting picked if The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga or My Chemical Romance decide to add shows to their tours.
And while we’re at it — hello! — how about some love for the Queen City when — ahem — the time comes, Taylor Swift? (Same goes for you, Bad Bunny...)
That said, we are hardly complaining about what 2026 has in store for us so far, live-music-wise.
There are up-and-comers and Next Big Things. Grammy winners and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. Artists who haven’t been here for decades, or, in some cases, have never performed in these parts before. Shows set for concert halls built for just 1,700 people, for football stadiums that can fit 75,000, and for a variety of venues in between.
So if you made it through Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday with cash to spare, and if you like the idea of giving the gift of an experience — as well as the idea of possibly benefitting from said gift yourself) — here are 26 concerts to consider.
Shows ranked in order of noteworthiness (just our opinion, of course), with all noted ticket prices inclusive of the service fee and sales tax.
1. Ed Sheeran
Come: To see why the 34-year-old musician is considered the king of looping himself.
Stay: To watch him reveal what songs he wound up plucking from his hit-filled catalog (which includes 31 — ! — top-40 singles over the past 14 years) for inclusion in a setlist that also must somehow give new album “Play” its due.
When and where: Saturday, Oct. 17, at Bank of America Stadium, 800 S. Mint St.
His last time in Charlotte: September 2017.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 2021’s “Bad Habits.”
Tickets: Through the end of the year, there’s a buy-one-get-one deal that works out to just $50 per ticket. Use promo code TMN241.
2. Sting
Come: Because he’s a living legend, and because in some ways this is a makeup for his canceled co-headlining show with Billy Joel, due to the “Piano Man’s” health issues.
Stay: To catch all The Police songs he’ll be covering, between solo selections.
When and where: Monday, May 18, at PNC Music Pavilion, 707 Pavilion Blvd.
His last time in Charlotte: November 2007 with The Police.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 1988’s “Fragile.”
Tickets: Starting at just over $80 each.
3. Zach Bryan
Come: Because the “Something in the Orange” singer-songwriter-superstar is at the absolute peak of his powers.
Stay: To watch him try to adapt his DIY brand of country and Americana music — which seems a glove-like fit for large nightclubs and small concert halls — for 70,000-plus fans.
When and where: Saturday, April 18, at Bank of America Stadium.
His last time 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.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 2020’s “Revival.”
Tickets: They go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday. Several presales are listed here.
4. Rush
Come: Because this is the first time the band will tour without Neil Peart, who died in 2020 — so you’ll want to see how new drummer Anika Nilles fills in for one of the best of all-time on songs like “Tom Sawyer” and “Subdivisions.”
Stay: To get your money’s worth. The band’s shows typically sprawl across three hours.
When and where: Friday and Sunday, Nov. 20 and Nov. 22, at Spectrum Center, 333 E. Trade St.
Their last time in Charlotte: October 2012.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 1974’s “Working Man.”
Tickets: They’re lower on average for the Sunday night show, starting at a little over $110 each. For Friday night, they start closer to $175 apiece.
5. Doja Cat
Come: To appreciate at her ability to pivot from sweetly sung vocals to sharp-tongued raps on a dime.
Stay: Because you just never know what might happen at one of her shows, given her reputation for being sporadically irascible — and for occasionally even directing outbursts at her own fans.
When and where: Wednesday, Nov. 18, at Spectrum Center.
Her last time in Charlotte: November 2023.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 2025’s “Jealous Type.”
Tickets: Starting at just over $80 each.
6. Yungblud
Come: To check out the 28-year-old British singer-songwriter who is up for three Grammys in February and has been making a strong case for rock being as alive as ever.
Stay: To marvel at his stunningly emotive devotion to his craft — and at his fans’ stunningly emotive devotion to him.
When and where: Thursday, June 4, at Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd.
His last time in Charlotte: February 2022.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 2025’s “Zombie.”
Tickets: The show is officially sold out. At the time of publication, “Verified Resale Tickets” could be had for just under $150 each.
7. AC/DC
Come: For an onslaught of rock anthems — “Thunderstruck,” “Highway to Hell,” “Back in Black,” “You Shook Me All Night Long” — that should rattle teeth, if not the foundations of uptown’s skyscrapers.
Stay: To make sure lead guitarist Angus Young, who’ll be 71, can still pull off a decent duckwalk.
When and where: Saturday, July 11, at Bank of America Stadium.
Their last time in Charlotte: December 2008.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 1981’s “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You).”
Tickets: Starting at just over $100 each.
8. Alex Warren
Come: To be able to say you were there when this upstart of a 25-year-old folk-pop star graduated to the city’s largest indoor venue, just over a year after headlining Charlotte’s The Underground (capacity: ~600).
Stay: To assess whether he’s up to the task, given he has just one studio album in his career to draw from.
When and where: Friday, June 26, at Spectrum Center.
His last time in Charlotte: September 2025.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 2025’s “Ordinary.”
Tickets: Starting at just over $50 each.
9. Brad Paisley
Come: To see the three-time Grammy winner and Grand Ole Opry member sing favorites like “Mud On the Tires” and “She’s Everything” in a novel but so-apropos setting for a country-music concert.
Stay: For the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
When and where: Sunday, May 24, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, 5555 Concord Pkwy S, Concord.
His last time in Charlotte: August 2021.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 2005’s “Alcohol.”
Tickets: “Track Passes” — which gain you access to the show — are just over $90 each. A track pass can be bundled with a race ticket for less than $90 more.
10. Demi Lovato
Come: To catch that newlywed twinkle in the former Disney Channel star’s eyes. (She married Canadian musician Jordan “Jutes” Lutes this past May.)
Stay: To be among the first to know what her full setlist will be, as this show marks the official kickoff of her “It’s Not That Deep Tour.”
When and where: Wednesday, April 8, at Spectrum Center.
Her last time in Charlotte: October 2022.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 2015’s “Cool for the Summer.”
Tickets: Starting at just over $80 each.
11. MGK
Come: For over-the-top stage design and a genre-bending setlist that touches on hip-hop, pop-punk and the 35-year-old’s recent experimentation with Americana.
Stay: To see if his famous wife — actress Megan Fox — makes a cameo appearance on stage during the show.
When and where: Sunday, May 31, at PNC Music Pavilion.
His last time in Charlotte: June 2022.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 2025’s “Vampire Diaries.”
Tickets: Starting at just under $60 each.
12. Los Ángeles Azules
Come: Because they’re one of the most iconic Mexican cumbia groups of all-time, with nearly 17 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Stay: To watch the little dance parties that will break out all over the venue. Or better yet, to start your own.
When and where: Wednesday, Feb. 25, at Bojangles Coliseum, 2700 E. Independence Blvd.
Their last time in Charlotte: They’ve never played a show in the Carolinas before.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 1999’s “17 Años.”
Tickets: Starting at just over $75 each.
13. Cardi B
Come: Because she’ll have just recently given birth to her fourth child! (She and her NFL-player-boyfriend Stefon Diggs welcomed a newborn son in November.)
Stay: To feel the bass lines of songs like “Please Me” and “WAP” vibrate through your body as you check one of the past decade’s most successful rappers off of your hip-hop concert bucket list.
When and where: Sunday, April 12, at Spectrum Center.
Her last time in Charlotte: She’s never played North Carolina before, though she was at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C., in May 2019.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 2018’s “I Like It” (with Bad Bunny and J. Balvin).
Tickets: Starting at just over $80 each.
14. Evanescence
Come: For what’s set up to be a celebration of metal-leaning female supporting artists — K.Flay, Poppy, and Courtney Le Plante — hand-picked by frontwoman Amy Lee.
Stay: To be melted by Lee’s vocals on the band’s loveliest (and softest) song, “My Immortal.”
When and where: Thursday, June 18, at PNC Music Pavilion.
Their last time in Charlotte: August 2022.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 2003’s “Bring Me to Life.”
Tickets: They go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday. Several presales are listed here.
15. 5 Seconds of Summer
Come: If you grew up with them through the 2010s and want to see how they are aging; they’ll all officially be 30 years old and up by the time they arrive in town.
Stay: Because if you’re close enough to the stage you’ll get “sauced” (i.e. covered in confetti by cannons disguised as giant ketchup and mustard bottles).
When and where: Saturday, Aug. 15, at PNC Music Pavilion.
Their last time in Charlotte: July 2022.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 2018’s “Youngblood.”
Tickets: Starting at just over $40 each.
16. Zara Larsson
Come: To see what the veteran-but-still-young (she’s 27) Swedish dance-pop star may have learned while opening arenas for Tate McRae earlier this year.
Stay: To be dazzled by her brightly colored outfits, with eye-popping stage-lighting elements to match.
When and where: Wednesday, April 1, at The Fillmore Charlotte, 820 Hamilton St.
Her last time in Charlotte: She’s never played a show in the Carolinas before.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 2015’s “Lush Life.”
Tickets: The show is officially sold out. At the time of publication, “Verified Resale Tickets” could be had for about $140 each.
17. Journey
Come: Because it’s being advertised as the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers’ farewell tour, even if we’ll believe it if and when they actually don’t come back.
Stay: For the last song. Come on, you know what it’s going to be...
When and where: Wednesday, May 20, at Spectrum Center.
Their last time in Charlotte: April 2022.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: That last song, which we guarantee will be 1981’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” (although at this point, is there anyone who doesn’t know all the words to this one?).
Tickets: Starting at just over $70 each.
18. Boys 4 Life Tour
Come: For the reunion of R&B group B2K, which shined briefly but brightly in the early 2000s.
Stay: For a lineup that will spark a heavy dose of nostalgia for that genre and that era, with co-headliner Bow Wow (”Like You”) and support from Pretty Ricky (”Grind With Me”) and Amerie (”1 Thing”). Waka Flocka Flame and Jeremih also are on the bill.
When and where: Saturday, March 7, at Spectrum Center.
Their last time in Charlotte: B2K hasn’t been here since playing Charlotte Coliseum in September 2002.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 2002’s “Bump, Bump, Bump” (feat. P. Diddy, although we’ll guess they’ll leave his part out).
Tickets: Starting at just over $100 each.
19. Twice
Come: To get in on the K-pop craze, by way of this mega-popular Seoul-based girl group that features a dizzying number of members (nine!).
Stay: For a spectacle of a show that revolves around a 360-degree stage with wraparound LED screens.
When and where: Tuesday, March 31, at Spectrum Center.
Their last time in Charlotte: They’ve never played a show in the Carolinas before.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 2022’s “Talk That Talk.”
Tickets: Starting at just over $80 each.
20. bbno$
Come: To see what all the fuss is about. The Canadian rapper has had minimal chart success in the U.S., but he’s a cult hero here thanks to fun, rowdy live concerts.
Stay: Because you might win a cookbook.
When and where: Sunday, March 8, at The Fillmore Charlotte.
His last time in Charlotte: November 2022.
If you memorize the words to only one song, make it this one: 2022’s “pogo” (with Diplo).
Tickets: The show is officially sold out. At the time of publication, “Verified Resale Tickets” could be had for about $100 each.
Other shows that would make great gifts
21. Fantasia and Anthony Hamilton
Two North Carolina natives co-headline one soulful bill. Friday, Jan. 23, at Spectrum Center.
22. Nine Inch Nails
Trent Reznor revives the industrial(-rock) revolution. Tuesday, Feb. 10, at Spectrum Center.
23. Riley Green
The rising country star makes the leap to headliner status. Thursday, May 7, at PNC Music Pavilion.
24. Mötley Crüe
Ten years after their “Final Tour,” the rockers try to kickstart your heart again. Monday, Aug. 17, at PNC Music Pavilion.
25. Jack Johnson
Our favorite Hawaiian singer-songwriter surfs back into town. Sunday, Aug. 23, at PNC Music Pavilion.
26. Guns N’ Roses
And finally, a bit further afield: Axl and Slash share the stage at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Thursday, July 23.
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 5:07 AM.
