GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) – If you must award a grade for entertainment events across North Carolina in September, please consider an “F.”
Not because the fare will be failing but because F-words dominate the schedule, including the North Carolina Folk Festival to football to the Central Carolina Fair and to, well, futbol, if you prefer.
Virtually all the letters of the alphabet are covered, of course – from Aerosmith to “Wicked” – and a lot of other stuff in between at the state’s major venues.
The NC Folk Festival does not fit into the formula of the big entertainment arenas/complexes/facilities – it is on multiple stages in downtown Greensboro – but it is in size and scope the biggest event of the month across the state, attracting tens of thousands.
The NC Folk Festival is in its sixth year following the 3-year run of the National Folk Festival, and from Sept. 8 to Sept. 10, there will be 73 scheduled events, including some repeat performances, across four stages and three participatory venues.
These include vocalists, instrumentalists, dancers and bands. The NC A&T Jazz Ensemble opens everything at 5 p.m. on Sept. 8. And it’s all free.
And before we get to the sports stuff, let’s also mention the 124th annual Central Carolina Fair – yes, nearly a century and a quarter – which will draw thousands to the parking lot of the Greensboro Coliseum for a 10-day run, Sept. 8-17.
The fair promises the attendant midway rides, games, food (you know, funnel cakes and cotton candy) and entertainment. There’s even a separate Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow Party inside the Greensboro Coliseum on Sept. 9-10. That’s also where country singer Koe Wetzel will perform on Sept. 15.
Don’t forget to forget
F also could stand for “forget” – as in forget your cash at most venues. The Steven Tanger Center for Performing Arts as of Sept. 1 joins the lineup of venues that no longer will accept cash.
The Durham Center of Performing Arts, Spectrum Center in Charlotte, PNC Arena in Raleigh and Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte also are cashless. Most of the concessions at Allegacy Stadium in Winston-Salem will be cashless for Wake Forest football.
Now let’s talk about some football
Starting on Saturday, the big guys of football will put toe to pigskin across North Carolina. And we are not even tracking the college stadiums in Greenville, Greensboro, Chapel Hill, Boone, Raleigh or Charlotte.
If we did, we would note that NC State plays three home games in September at Carter-Finley Stadium, including Notre Dame on Sept. 9.
The big event is actually in Charlotte, at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday night, when North Carolina plays South Carolina in something they call the Duke’s Mayo Classic at 8. That’s also the big national telecast game that day on ABC-TV. ESPN’s “Game Day” crew will be on hand, too.
Oddly, the Carolina Panthers of the NFL play only once in their home stadium during September. That’s Sept. 18 against the New Orleans Saints.
So most of the football in Charlotte will be played by the Charlotte FC – as in Futbol Club – of the Major Soccer League, who will play there twice, on Sept. 16 against DC United and Sept. 20 against Philadelphia Union.
Wake Forest, which opened its football schedule against Elon on Aug. 31, will play twice at Allegacy Field: Vanderbilt on Sept. 9 and Georgia Tech on Sept. 23.
And you will be pleased to know that there will be numerous other musical options in September other than marching bands at those games.
Double-hitters
The broader options include five touring acts that will make stops in both PNC Arena in Raleigh and Spectrum Center in Charlotte:
- LL Cool J’s “The F.O.R.C.E. Live Tour,” with The Roots, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Z-Trip, Rakim, Juvenile and De La Soul on Sept. 9 at the Spectrum Center and on Sept. 10 at PNC Arena.
- Lil Baby And Friends, with GloRilla, GLOSS UP, Rylo Rodriguez and Hunxho will be at PNC on Sept. 11 and Spectrum on Sept. 12.
- Comedian Bert Kreischer will have his “Tops Off World Tour” uncovered on Sept. 14 at PNC and Sept. 15 at Spectrum.
- The Jonas Brothers’ “Five Albums. One Night. The Tour” will stop in Raleigh on Sept. 28 and Charlotte on Sept. 30.
- The country band Old Dominion will bring Tyler Hubbard and Kylie Morgan along for the “Bad Vibes Tour” on Sept. 29 in Charlotte and Sept. 30 in Raleigh.
Vintage acts
If you like vintage and big-name acts, you have options there, too:
- Drake will bring the “It’s All A Blur Tour,” with 21 Savage, for two shows at the Spectrum Center, Sept. 22-23.
- Aerosmith will perform with the Black Crowes for the “Peace Out: The Farewell Tour” on Sept. 24 at PNC Arena.
- The Doobie Brothers will play at White Oak Amphitheater in Greensboro on the night before the fair, Sept. 7.
- The Forest At Duke Legends Concert & Comedy Series at the Durham Performing Arts Center will include Chicago on Sept. 28 and Patti LaBelle on Sept. 29.
Other stuff
- The big stage event this month at the Steven Tanger Center of Performing Arts in Greensboro is Chicago the Musical, “25 Years of Razzle Dazzle” on Sept. 19-24. Spider-Man (Sept.28) and the Golden Girls (Sept. 29-30) also will be there.
- “Wicked” wraps up at month-long run DPAC on Sept. 17.
- The Guilford College Bryan Series, a long-running lineup of guest speakers who have conversations with the audience, will kick off its 5-person fall lineup with heroic pilot Sully Sullenberger on Sept. 14 at the Tanger Center. Sullenberger is the guy who in January 2009 safely landed United Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in New York City.
- The Professional Bullriders Team Series will have Cowboy Days at the Greensboro Coliseum on Sept. 22-24. Eight riding teams – including the Greensboro-based Carolina Cowboys – will go head-to-head for four competitions each day.
- The NHL season came to an abrupt and unsatisfactory ending last year when the Carolina Hurricanes were swept out of the Eastern Conference championship round. The skaters are back on the ice for two exhibition games at PNC Arena: Sept. 26 against the Tampa Bay Lighting and Sept. 27 against the Florida Panthers, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs but lost the final.
- WWE Monday Night Raw grapples with a stop on Monday at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
The full list
These are the highlights for the last month of the summer at arenas, stadiums, halls and amphitheaters across the state. You can click on the links for each facility to find out about ticket availability and prices. Theme parks and resorts and even some state parks may have big doings, too, but we’ve focused on the biggest venues and biggest flings.
Greensboro Coliseum Complex
1021 West Gate City Blvd., Greensboro
Sept. 1: Peso Pluma at Greensboro Coliseum
Sept. 2: NC Late Night Music Fest at Greensboro Coliseum
Sept. 3: RBD, “Soy Rebeide” at Greensboro Coliseum
Sept. 7: The Doobie Brothers, at White Oak Amphitheater
Sept. 8-17: Central Carolina Fair 2023, Greensboro Coliseum parking lot
Sept. 8: Green Quinn Bingo at Piedmont Hall
Sept. 9-10: Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow Party at Greensboro Coliseum
Sept. 15: Koe Wetzel at Greensboro Coliseum
Sept. 19: Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame induction event at Greensboro Coliseum
Sept. 22-24: Jurassic Quest at Special Events Center
Sept. 22-24: PBR Team Series: Cowboy Days at Greensboro Coliseum
Sept. 30: Daniel Barksdale’s Sunday Morning (The Stage Play) at Odeon Theatre
Find out more at the Greensboro Coliseum website.
Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts
300 North Elm St., Greensboro
Sept. 14: Guilford College Bryan Series, Sully Sullenberger
Sept. 16: Daniel Tosh
Sept. 19-24: Chicago the Musical, “25 Years of Razzle Dazzle”
Sept. 28: “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
Sept 29-30: Golden Girls – The Laughs Continue
Find out more on the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts website.
Durham Performing Arts Center
123 Vivian St., Durham
Aug. 27-Sept. 17: “Wicked,” Broadway Series tour
Sept. 19: Squeeze and The Psychedelic Furs
Sept. 20: Ben Folds, “What Matters Most Tour”
Sept. 21: Nick Cave, “Live in North America” solo
Sept. 22-23: Jo Koy World Tour
Sept. 24: Chris Tucker, “The Legend Tour 2023”
Sept. 28: Chicago, Forest At Duke Legends Concert & Comedy Series
Sept. 29: Patti LaBelle, Forest At Duke Legends Concert & Comedy Series
Sept. 30: Nimesh Patel, “Fast & Loose Tour”
Find out more on the Durham Performing Arts Center website.
Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Complex
2825 University Parkway, Winston-Salem
Sept. 9: Vanderbilt at Wake Forest, Allegacy Stadium
Sept. 12: Greater Winston-Salem Annual Meeting, Joe Coliseum
Sept. 23: Georgia Tech at Wake Forest, Allegacy Stadium
Find out more on the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum website.
PNC Arena
1499 Edwards Mill Road, Raleigh
Sept. 10: LL Cool J, “The F.O.R.C.E. Live”, with The Roots, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Z-Trip, Rakim, Juvenile and De La Soul
Sept. 11: Lil Baby And Friends, with GloRilla, GLOSS UP, Rylo Rodriguez and Hunxho
Sept. 14: Bert Kreischer, “Tops Off World Tour”
Sept. 24: Aerosmith, “Peace Out: The Farewell Tour,” with The Black Crowes
Sept. 26: Tampa Bay Lighting vs. Carolina Hurricanes (exhibition)
Sept. 27: Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes (exhibition)
Sept. 28: Jonas Brothers, “Five Albums. One Night. The Tour”
Sept. 30: Old Dominion, “Bad Vibes Tour,” with Tyler Hubbard and Kylie Morgan
Find out more on the PNC Arena website.
Red Hat Amphitheater
500 South McDowell St., Raleigh
Sept. 3: The 5 Seconds of Summer Show
Sept 6: Caamp [sic]
Sept. 23: Parker McCollum
Sept. 27: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Find out more on the Red Hat Amphitheater website.
Spectrum Center
333 East Trade St., Charlotte
Sept. 4: WWE Monday Night Raw
Sept. 5: $uicideboy$, “Grey Day 2023”
Sept. 9: Sept. 10: LL Cool J, “The F.O.R.C.E. Live”, with The Roots, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Z-Trip, Rakim, Juvenile and De La Soul
Sept. 12: Lil Baby And Friends, with GloRilla, GLOSS UP, Rylo Rodriguez and Hunxho
Sept. 15: Bert Kreischer, “Tops Off World Tour”
Sept. 22-23: Drake, “It’s All A Blur Tour,” with 21 Savage
Sept. 29: Old Dominion, “Bad Vibes Tour,” with Tyler Hubbard and Kylie Morgan
Sept. 30: Jonas Brothers, “Five Albums. One Night. The Tour”
Find out more on the Spectrum Center website.
Bank of America Stadium
333 East Trade St., Charlotte
Sept. 2: Duke’s Mayo Classic, North Carolina vs. South Carolina
Sept. 16: DC United at Charlotte FC
Sept. 18: New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Sept. 20: Philadelphia Union at Charlotte FC
Find out more on the Carolina Panthers website.
