Within two minutes of getting an email from Live Nation and Bank of America Stadium on Tuesday morning teasing the announcement of a “major show” for the 2025 concert season, a colleague sent me a message that read, simply:
“Taylor Swift?,” followed immediately by a crossed-fingers emoji.
And over the past several hours — as I’ve mentioned to people I’ve bumped into that I’m going to the stadium later this week for a news conference featuring the U.S.’s largest concert promoter, representatives for Tepper Sports Entertainment, and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles — the world’s biggest pop star’s name has kept coming up.
I mean, there are only so many artists who could command this type of flashy, high-profile reveal, which is set for 9:30 a.m. Thursday. She would certainly seem to be foremost among them.
But is Swift really a possibility? The answer, I’m afraid, is no.
Let’s break down why that’s so, as well as take a quick look at other candidates to consider between now and Thursday morning.
Why it won’t be Taylor Swift
Between 2007 and 2015, she performed in Charlotte six times. Since then, she’s pretty much completely ignored us.
For the past year and a half, Charlotte has been dying for her to bring her Eras Tour here. So much so that the city manifested a beyond-wishful-thinking rumor that Swift might surprise us with a guest appearance at the Lovin’ Life music festival in uptown back in May with Post Malone. (She did not. Not even close.)
We all, still, clicked on every new “Eras Tour Extended!” headline hoping that we’d see “Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte” on the list — yet every time, we struck out.
Tuesday’s teaser revived those hopes one more time. But two things will dash them.
For one, Swift told her fans at a concert in Liverpool, England in June that “Eras” would officially end its unprecedented run in December, following three shows in Vancouver, British Columbia.
“This is the very first time I’ve ever acknowledged to myself and admitted that this tour is gonna end in December. Like, that’s it,” she said onstage.
She wouldn’t be the first huge star to add dates to a cash cow of a tour after initially suggesting no shows would be added. And I cannot imagine a scenario in which Tepper Sports Entertainment hasn’t been lobbying for Swift to pay them a visit.
But the larger issue here is that Swift’s tours are promoted by AEG Presents and The Messina Group, which are competitors of Live Nation.
Sorry, Swifties.
You have a much better chance of seeing Taylor Swift at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 24 — when the Kansas City Chiefs and her boyfriend Travis Kelce are in town to take on the Panthers.
Who else it (probably) won’t be
All other things being equal, legendary artists like The Rolling Stones , Billy Joel , Elton John , Garth Brooks , and even George Strait might warrant the fanfare. But they’ve all already played Bank of America Stadium in the past few years.
Joel, in fact, was the star — in absentia — of a formal news conference held at the stadium five years ago, when the Carolina Panthers announced that they were getting back into the concert business starting with a show by the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer (one that ended up being postponed for two years due to COVID).
Announcements for both The Stones’ 2021 concert and John’s 2022 performance , meanwhile, were teased in advance with logos that appeared on the stadium videoboards; but the official reveals were ultimately issued electronically and not in-person.
So it seems unlikely that the team and Live Nation would take the time and energy for a returning stadium act.
The exception might be The Rolling Stones, which could be restarting its “Hackney Diamonds Tour” in 2025 — or might be announcing some sort of “farewell tour.” (Frontman Mick Jagger will turn 82 in July, FWIW.)
I also would bet against an encore from Beyoncé , who played the stadium just last year .
Metallica last week used traditional means to announce its May 31, 2025 BofA Stadium engagement . The Eagles , Ed Sheeran , Rod Stewart and Sting are all on tour next year, and they’re all huge names, but I just don’t think any of them quite rise to the level of being worth summoning the media.
So, then, who does?
Coldplay, Oasis or U2?
Any of these U.K. bands would be a remarkably big deal.
U2 is due to announce some sort of tour, having been awfully quiet since ending its acclaimed run at The Sphere in Las Vegas in March. And the band is long over due to return to Charlotte, a city it hasn’t performed in since christening Spectrum Center (called Charlotte Bobcats Arena at the time) nearly two decades ago, in December 2005.
Coldplay, meanwhile, has international “Music Of The Spheres World Tour” dates scattered throughout November, January, April and August, which potentially leaves some room for U.S. shows in timeframes outside of the NFL season.
The Chris Martin-led band behind hits like “Yellow,” “The Scientist” and “Clocks” hasn’t been here since doing an arena show in 2012.
Perhaps the most interesting possibility, though, is Oasis. In August, the Gallagher brothers announced their highly anticipated 2025 reunion tour that at present includes a run of shows in the United Kingdom and Ireland. But as the general thinking goes, the “Wonderwall” group is likely to unveil dates on other continents, eventually.
Perhaps as early as Thursday morning.
Paul or Bruce?
On my short “there’s-an-outside-chance” list, I’d include AC/DC, Adele, Billie Eilish and Lady Gaga (thanks to suggestions from friends and colleagues). But frankly, there are only two other artists I can think of who would be truly worthy of the special treatment.
One is 82-year-old Beatle Paul McCartney. He is currently not touring and probably ripe for a farewell tour, too.
I saw him (for the first time) at Truist Field at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem in May 2022 and was blown away . To close that show, Sir Paul told the crowd: “You’ve been fantastic tonight. Thank you very much, North Carolina. We’ve had a great time. So all that remains to be said is — we’ll see you next time .”
He’d be a treat for Charlotte, a city he hasn’t included on a tour in nearly a decade-and-a-half.
The other is Bruce Springsteen. “The Boss” seems like a less-likely candidate just because he has said he prefers arenas to stadiums (and to some extent has preferred theaters to arenas in recent years); but the demand would certainly be there, and Springsteen returning to pro football stadiums would indeed be news-conference-worthy.
Springsteen celebrated Birthday No. 75 on Monday, by the way.
Final answer?
I wish I could say Taylor Swift was a possibility. I really do. It would make so many people I know happy.
Alas, my gut tells me it’s going to be an old-timer. And my brain tells me the old-timer that makes the most sense is the Beatle.
We’ll find out soon...
Local News
Comments / 0