Mötley Crüe brought its circus-themed spectacle back to Charlotte on Monday night, headlining a sold-out bill with Extreme and Tesla at a venue that concertgoers may not have recognized by name. The show landed at Truliant Amphitheater, the 20,000-capacity outdoor venue off Interstate 85 that spent decades known to Charlotte fans as PNC Music Pavilion before a rebrand earlier this year.
Extreme opened the night, followed by Tesla, before Mötley Crüe closed out the evening as part of what the band calls The Return of the Carnival of Sins tour, according to WSOC-TV. Photographer Richard Thigpen captured images from the Charlotte performance, the station reported. The stop is one of 33 dates on a North American run that began July 17 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, and is scheduled to wrap September 26 in Ridgefield, Washington, according to Live Nation Newsroom.
A 20th-Anniversary Reprise With a Cause Attached
The tour's title and concept revive Mötley Crüe's original 2005–2006 Carnival of Sins reunion run, which spanned more than 100 dates worldwide and produced a 2006 live album and concert DVD recorded in Grand Rapids, Michigan, per Wikipedia's account of that earlier tour. This year's version marks both the 20th anniversary of that production and the band's 45th anniversary since forming in 1981, the Live Nation Newsroom notes.
The trek also carries a charitable component. Through what the band calls the Mötley Crüe Giveback Initiative, $1 from every ticket sold on the 2026 tour goes to the After School Arts Program, which supports hands-on arts and music education for youth, according to 313 Presents. The initiative was established to help offset federal funding cuts affecting school arts programs around the country, the outlet reported.
New Guitarist, Same Circus Theme
Charlotte fans watching the current lineup saw guitarist John 5 in the spot long held by Mick Mars. John 5 formally joined Mötley Crüe as a full member in 2023 after Mars retired from touring in October 2022 due to his struggle with ankylosing spondylitis, according to Guitar.com. Mars later filed a lawsuit in 2023 over band profits and brand ownership tied to his departure, the outlet reported.
Support came from two bands with deep roots in the genre. Extreme, formed in Massachusetts in 1985, is anchored by its 1991 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single “More Than Words,” per Live Nation's account of the tour lineup. Tesla, formed in Sacramento in 1981, performed an eight-song set featuring “Modern Day Cowboy,” “Love Song,” and “Little Suzi,” according to Ultimate Classic Rock.
Charlotte's Amphitheater Gets a New Name and a Facelift
The venue itself has been through several identities since it opened in 1991 as Blockbuster Pavilion, later operating as Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre and PNC Music Pavilion before Winston-Salem-based Truliant Federal Credit Union secured naming rights in January, according to WCNC. The amphitheater can hold up to 20,000 spectators, including 7,232 covered pavilion seats, 2,221 reserved lawn seats, and 10,000 general admission lawn spots, and hosts more than 45 major concerts a year, per Credit Union Daily.
Ahead of this summer's concert season, venue operator Live Nation completed renovations upgrading plaza areas, public gathering spaces, and food-and-beverage offerings at the site, the Charlotte Ledger reported. The rebrand fits a broader pattern across the region, as Hoodline previously reported in its piece on TD Bank's new naming deal, noting that financial institutions have also put their names on Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre and TD Amp Ballantyne in the Charlotte market.
