Note: Authored by David Menconi, this piece has been produced in partnership with Raleigh Arts. Menconi's latest book, "Oh, Didn't They Ramble: Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music," was published by University of North Carolina Press. His podcast, Carolina Calling, explores the history of the Tar Heel State through music.

Downtown Raleigh’s Red Hat Amphitheater is in a period of transition, as 2026 will be the final concert season at the venue’s original 500 S. McDowell St. location, its home since 2010. As this season plays out, the expanded bigger, better sequel version is already under construction one block to the south. It’s scheduled to open in 2027.

In the meantime, 2026 is already shaping up as a season to remember, with 30 shows already on the schedule. Bush, the 1990s-vintage British grunge hitmakers, opened Red Hat's season on April 14. Upcoming shows cover a wide stylistic range, including soulful rock band Alabama Shakes on April 25 (the first sellout of the season); Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sting on May 19; r&b singer/songwriter Khalid on June 6; the jam band O.A.R., who played Red Hat’s debut 2010 season, on July 29; and rising Americana stars Turnpike Troubadours on Oct. 10.

Kerry Painter, executive director for the Raleigh Convention Center and Performing Arts Complex, calls Red Hat “the amp” and is already feeling nostalgic about the place.

“It’s sentimental, a beloved boutique amp, and we like its quirks,” Painter says. “But it will be nice to be in a place next year with things like permanent bathrooms, and concession stands with the latest new self-checkout technology to move things along faster.”

Red Hat’s original incarnation was not intended to be a long-term proposition, but just a temporary place-keeper. Raleigh Convention Center opened in 2008 with a parcel of land earmarked for its eventual expansion, and the city decided to use it for a 6,000-capacity concert facility in the meantime. Early on Red Hat seemed like it would be a nice supplement to the larger 20,000-capacity Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek south of downtown, but it quickly became successful in its own right.

^{The current Red Hat Amphitheater, looking northeast. The new amphitheater is being built on the lot in the bottom right of this photo.}

Last year, Red Hat’s 44 shows attracted 245,297 concert-goers, which generated an economic impact of more than $32 million in downtown Raleigh. The venue’s house record remains the 2024 season, with 50 shows and total attendance of 280,687.

One thing about the second edition of the amphitheater that will stay the same is the name, as Red Hat is locked in as title sponsor until at least the year 2030. The new Red Hat will have better sightlines, improved backstage facilities and a better location to beat the summertime heat.

^{Rendering of the new Red Hat Amphitheater, looking southwest.}

“There’s no covered seating, but the new location is directly behind a condo tower,” says Painter. “So we’ll get shade earlier in the day, which is a wonderful thing. Backstage, the artists will have fun dressing rooms with a design theme like a mid-century hotel. It should be fun for them, make it more memorable so they’ll want to come back.”

^{Rendering of the new Red Hat Amphitheater, opening in time for the 2027 music season}.

One of the new spot's accessories is currently a popular selfie spot at the corner of Cabarrus and McDowell streets, a new Red Hat Amphitheater sign showing a hand making the sign of love—“because we love our amp,” says Painter. Another feature in the works for the new location is a time capsule, in honor of the history of the current venue. It will be displayed in a guitar case behind glass.

Red Hat’s 2026 season will conclude in late October, with the wrecking ball scheduled to swing soon after that. Once the old venue has been leveled, the convention center expansion project will go into full swing, aiming toward completion and opening in 2029.

Because of the construction schedule, unfortunately, one thing that will be lost this year is the wintertime ice-skating rink—a holiday-season tradition for Red Hat.

“We’re not able to do anything at Red Hat this Christmas, which is heartbreaking,” says Painter. “We considered trying to do it on a side street, but there’s just not a good place for it. So we had to let that go this year. It’s sad that the amp will be demolished immediately after the season. But sometimes you have to give up memories to make newer, better ones.”

Red Hat Amphitheater 2026 concert schedule

• April 14 – Bush
• April 16 – Lamb of God, Kublai Khan TX, Fit For An Autopsy, Sanguisugabogg
• April 23 – Russell Dickerson
• April 25 – Alabama Shakes, Mon Rovia
• April 30 – Disclosure
• May 8 – Bilmuri, The Home Team, GANG!
• May 16 – Ole 60, Rob Langdon & The Bends
• May 19 – Sting 3.0
• May 22 – Iration, Tribal Seeds
• May 30 – Young the Giant, Cold War Kids, Almost Monday
• June 4 – Sam Barber, Taylon Wyatt and Wild Horses
• June 6 – Khalid, Lauv
• June 26-27 – Goose
• July 5 – Madison Beer
• July 17 – Lindsey Stirling, PVRIS
• July 23 – Buju Banton, Stephen Marley
• July 28 – Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, Jimmie Vaughan & The Tilt-A-Whirl Band
• July 29 – O.A.R., Gavin DeGraw, Lisa Loeb
• Aug. 4 – Deep Purple, Kansas, Jefferson Starship
• Aug. 8 – Stephen Wilson Jr., The Lone Bellow
• Aug. 15 – Simple Plan, 3OH!3, Bowling for Soup
• Aug. 18 – Ella Mai
• Sept. 5 – Grupo Frontera
• Sept. 11 – Marcus King
• Sept. 27 – Rise Against, Alkaline Trio
• Oct. 4 – Dermot Kennedy, Jonah Kagen
• Oct. 5 – Amyl and the Sniffers
• Oct. 6 – Bleachers Forever, This Is Lorelei
• Oct. 10 – Turnpike Troubadours, Muscadine Bloodline, The Creekers
  
   

^{Header photo and first article photo by Garrett Poulos}