6 Artists to Watch for at Charlotte Pride 2026

While Pride Month has come and gone for much of the country, in Charlotte, festivities are still to come. Charlotte Pride 2026 will take place on Aug. 15-16 in Uptown, marking its 26th year. The parade will still run down Tryon Street while the festival will return to First Ward Park for the second straight year.

Below, we list some of the performers to check for, including headlining acts and local performers. All performers will play on the main stage in First Ward Park. 

Learn more including parking details, a parade map, hotel partners and how to find merch at the Charlotte Pride website.

Lauren Sanderson

Saturday, Aug. 15, 8 p.m.

Now known for blending influences from pop, hip-hop and R&B, Lauren Sanderson started her public career on YouTube as a motivational speaker. Her 2015 Ted Talk about her experience coming out to her parents, titled “For God’s Sake, Just Love Them,” went viral. It was around this time that she began writing songs, which she found to be a rawer expression of her feelings than the always-positive outlook of motivational speaking. 

She capitalized on the following she had built with the release of her two debut EPs, Center of Expression (2016) and Space (2017), with the latter reaching the top spot on the iTunes R&B albums chart and landing Sanderson a deal with Epic Records. 

The January 2020 release of her debut album, Midwest Kids Can Make It Big, was stunted by the COVID-19 pandemic, though this year’s release of her new album Lauren sees her returning to her most authentic self. 

“This album challenged my craft because it was the first time I had to take a step back and really create without thinking of anybody else,” she told The Honey Pop. “I was kind of just like, ‘What would I make if nobody else in the world would ever hear it?’” 

Flyana Boss

Saturday, Aug. 15, 7 p.m.

Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, and Dallas, Texas, respectively, MCs and multi-instrumentalists Bobbi Lanea and Folayan Kunerede met at The Music Institute in Hollywood. They immediately hit it off and began collaborating with each other, eventually naming their group Flyana Boss. 

The two went internationally viral in 2023 with “You Wish,” which they turned into their own TikTok trend by performing a clip of the song while running through a range of locations both recognizable {Walt Disney World) and mundane (a grocery store).

The pair has continued creating infectious, hip-hop anthems, garnering the respect of forebears like Missy Elliot and Janelle Monae. 

Isabella Lovestory

Saturday, Aug. 15, 6 p.m. 

Isabella Rodríguez Rivera, known professionally as Isabella Lovestory, is a Honduran pop and reggaeton singer based in Montreal, Canada. Collaborating with producer Mura Masa in the development of Amor Hardcore, her first full-length studio album released in 2022, her music has been described as perreo-pop. 

Rivera says Lovestory is a persona that allows her to exaggerate her own personality and have fun by embracing her own sexual objectification. 

“Mocking men is fun,” she said on her website. “Mocking what society views as degrading to women is fun, because nobody gets to decide what a woman’s true desires are.”

Angel Blacc

Saturday, Aug. 15, 5:30 p.m.

With “big mood, bold style and queer anthems,” rapper Angel Blacc dropped both volumes of their prettylittlethug EP last summer before performing at both Charlotte Pride and Charlotte Black Pride, and they’re pulling double duty again this year.

Last year’s album featured old-school, sample-heavy Southern beats reminiscent of 36 Mafia in their prime and a merciless flow that Meg Thee Stallion fans would appreciate. This summer, Blacc dropped POZER, dipping into their alternative bag and exploring a more rock-heavy sound.

According to social media, Blacc has moved from Charlotte to Los Angeles in the last year, but the Queen City will always welcome them back with open arms. 

Doubting Thomas

Saturday, Aug. 15, 3:30 p.m.

The popular ’90s Charlotte band officially disbanded in 2001, but Doubting Thomas, fronted by Gina Stewart and Brenda Gambill, never really went away, continuing to exert its hold on Charlotte’s musical imagination with a diverse definition-defying sound.

There are echoes of 1970s folk-inflected Laurel Canyon singer-songwriters and sympathetic rockers like The Eagles in Doubting Thomas’ indelible image-rich songs, but the band transcends genre, pulling from fiery protest tunes, experimental progressive rock and indie pop.

After the rapturous response to a 2022 reunion show, the band has continued to play shows when possible and even dropped a full-length album, Forever Changed, in 2025. 

Bryan Ruby

Sunday, Aug. 16, 5 p.m. 

Named a “2026 Artist to Watch” by the Nashville Scene, rising country artist Bryan Ruby is a John Lennon International Songwriting Prize finalist and winner of season 7 of Nashville Rising Song, an songwriter open mic contest in Music City. 

Ruby also has one of the most unique backstories in country music, having spent several seasons grinding his way through independent-league professional baseball. When he came out in 2021, he became the first professional baseball player to do so, ultimately founding a charity called Proud to Be in Baseball, which supports and encourages LGBTQ+ youth participation and inclusion in the sport. 

Ruby’s summer 2025 EP Growing Season introduced rich vocals and deeply authentic storytelling. Critics praise his “introspective and relatable storytelling” (The Nash News) and “expressive baritone” (MusicRow ), while Nashville Scene says he he has a “honey-bourbon voice that was destined for country music.”

“Baseball and country music are part of the fabric of our great country,” says Ruby on his website. “If there’s one message I hope people hear in my songs, it’s that hard work and heart can carry you through even what the world tells you are insurmountable obstacles. You can earn your place by following your passion, no matter who you are.”