Fall arts guide: The 11 concerts you won’t want to miss

A few stadium-sized tours heading South this fall. But if you want to see them, you’ll have to hit the road because they don’t have Triangle dates — at least not yet.

Most prominent is the “On the Run II” tour co-starring first-family-of-everything Jay-Z and Beyoncé, showing off their latest album as The Carters, “Everything Is Love.” At the moment, the closest it gets to the Triangle is Columbia, S.C., on Aug. 21, followed by Nashville on Aug. 23 and Atlanta on Aug. 25.

Perhaps it will hit one of our local stadiums this fall. The last time either was here was 2016, when Beyoncé’s “The Formation” tour played Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

This fall’s other stadium jaunt is piano man Billy Joel. His upcoming tour dates include Boston’s Fenway Park, Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium — and BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, home of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. But the Deacons won’t be there on Saturday, Oct. 13, Joel will.

Here are some other concerts that are hitting the Triangle.

Leon Bridges

Leon Bridges has emerged as one of the best old-soul revivalists in recent years, and he held the crowd pretty much spellbound when he played Durham Performing Arts Center in 2016. Two years later, he’s got a fine new album out and has moved on up to the roomier confines of Raleigh’s Red Hat Amphitheater. He’ll be there on Aug. 27.

Lilly Hiatt

Lilly Hiatt is the daughter of singer/songwriter John Hiatt, but that’s actually one of the less-interesting things about her. She’s a rocker who plays a sick-looking Rickenbacker guitar, and she writes fantastic songs more steeped in garage-rock than anybody’s version of Americana. She’ll be at Durham’s American Tobacco Warehouse on Aug. 30 — for free, no less, as part of WUNC’s Music on the Lawn series — with Anne-Claire Niver as a fine opening-act bonus.

The Revolution

Prince’s death in 2016 was a devastating blow, but the silver lining is how much of his music is still in the air. September brings a couple of cool remembrances our way.

▪ Let’s start with The Revolution — his backup band from the mid-1980s glory days of “Purple Rain.” The Revolution will play the nightclub program of the Hopscotch Music Festival, Sept. 6-8 in Raleigh.

▪ Then there’s “4U: A Symphonic Celebration of Prince.” As advertised, the show is orchestral renditions of classic Prince songs, as curated by Roots drummer/main man Questlove. It plays Red Hat Amphitheater on Sept. 13.

Joan Baez

Joan Baez, grande dame of American folk music for more than half a century, is retiring from the road with a 2018 farewell tour. We’re lucky enough to have a date, Sept. 29 at Durham Performing Arts Center. It is, of course, long sold out. But tickets are available on secondary broker sites.

Branford Marsalis

Branford Marsalis lives in Durham, though you can be forgiven if you didn’t know that because he’s on the road so much. But he’ll play a hometown weekend homestand in Durham this fall as part of the new Duke Performances season. Marsalis will play Duke’s Baldwin Auditorium Oct. 5-6, fronting his quartet featuring superlative pianist Joey Calderazzo.

Chris Stapleton

Somehow, Chris Stapleton remains one of the biggest acts in country music even though he seems to go out of his way to shun the spotlight. But he’s made it work, and Stapleton returns to Raleigh’s Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek (a venue he sold out last year) on Oct. 12 — topping a great triple-bill with Marty Stuart and Brent Cobb.

Nicki Minaj and Future

Along with Beyoncé/Jay-Z, this fall’s other most notable hip-hop-leaning tour is Nicki Minaj and Future — and this one is coming to the Triangle. Dubbed NICKIHNDRXX, it plays Raleigh’s PNC Arena on Oct. 14 as part of a 50-city run across North America and Europe.

Bob Dylan

The great rock bard, who has won every prize there is — up to and including Nobels and Pulitzers — will return to Durham Performing Arts Center Nov. 3. Expect a Great American Songbook-type show, similar to when he played a beguiling 2015 DPAC show. By now, tickets are probably gone, but check the broker sites.

This story was originally published August 18, 2018 at 3:07 PM.