Charlotte Arts & Culture

Arts, entertainment, and cultural life

An illustrated news graphic announces “¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues,” a Smithsonian exhibition on Latinos and American baseball opening July 18 in Charlotte, beside a baseball and red and blue ribbon shapes.

A Smithsonian Baseball Exhibition Opens Saturday at the Charlotte Museum of History. See the Part of the Story We Missed.

The Smithsonian's "¡Pleibol!" opens Saturday at the Charlotte Museum of History, in partnership with the Charlotte Knights, and runs through October 18.

Jack Beckett·Jul 17, 2026

Latest in Culture

A Smithsonian Baseball Exhibition Opens Saturday at the Charlotte Museum of History

"¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues," a bilingual Smithsonian exhibition on Latinos and baseball, opens Saturday at the Charlotte Museum of…

Jack Beckett·Jul 16, 2026

The Book Rack, a secondhand bookstore on Johnston Road in south Charlotte.

Fifty Thousand Secondhand Books, Almost None Over $8: The Book Rack's Quiet 30-Year Run

Fifty thousand secondhand books, almost none over eight dollars, and a trade that keeps them moving reader to reader.

Jack Beckett·Jul 1, 2026

Charlotte Mercury Review: SNL's Cold Open and Weekend Update Outshine an Otherwise Flat Night

A sharp, slow-journalism review of SNL's Nov. 1 episode: an inventive cold open and witty Weekend Update carry a lackluster night.

Jack Beckett·Nov 3, 2025

SNL Episode 3: Sabrina Carpenter's Pop-First Play Pays Off With One NSFW Jolt

SNL's Oct. 18 episode put pop over politics: a "Domingo" cold open, tight staging, a brief mic glitch, and "Nobody's Son" with an uncensored lyric on…

Jack Beckett·Oct 20, 2025

SNL at 50: Amy Poehler Lifts an Uneven Anniversary Show

SNL's 50th-birthday show was fine. Amy Poehler was better. One killer fake-ad and a buzzy Update reunion kept a wobbly night upright.

Jack Beckett·Oct 13, 2025

SNL Season 51 Premiere Review: Dialogue Over Spectacle, A Better Show

SNL's Season 51 premiere cut the noise and let the lines breathe, with clean endings, character heat, and two sharp Doja Cat performances that…

Jack Beckett·Sep 12, 2025

About this beat

Arts, entertainment, music, food culture, and the creative life of the Queen City.

Charlotte doesn't always get credit for its cultural scene — but the city has a serious arts infrastructure, a live music ecosystem that punches above its weight, a food culture shaped by 100+ countries, and a film and television industry that's been quietly growing for a decade. The Charlotte Mercury covers culture the way we cover government: on the record, with sources, and with opinions when the facts earn them.

What We Cover

Section	Focus
Arts & Museums	Bechtler, Mint Museum, Harvey B. Gantt Center, McColl Center, independent galleries
Live Music & Venues	The Fillmore, Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre, Neighborhood Theatre, local venues
Theater & Performing Arts	Blumenthal, Children's Theatre, local companies and productions
Film & Television	NC film tax credits, local productions, the Charlotte film community
Food Culture	Restaurant scene beyond the review — chefs, trends, culinary identity
Festivals & Events	Charlotte Shout, CIAA, HBC Honors, Jazz Festival, Juneteenth, and more
Charlotte FC & Cultural Moments	When sports intersects with city identity

Charlotte's Creative Infrastructure

The city has invested meaningfully in arts — the Cultural Campus on South Tryon, the McColl Center in Fourth Ward, the Harvey B. Gantt Center as a national anchor for African American arts and culture. We cover how that investment is governed, who benefits, and what gets left out.

Related Coverage

Community — Neighborhood arts organizations and cultural events
Business — The creative economy and arts funding
The Charlotte Mercury — Full newsroom

[The Charlotte Mercury publishes under Creative Commons BY-ND 4.0.]