Photos by Joey Forgione
Ken Carson brought the Xperimenting Tour to Bojangles Coliseum on Sept. 9, filling the Charlotte arena with smoke, flames and a crowd that never stopped moving.
Joined by DJ Moon, Prettifun and Xaviersobased, Carson performed a 28-song set that spanned nearly every era of his catalog. The Charlotte stop came just weeks after the release of “Cartunez”, the 13-song companion to July’s “Xperiment”, making the tour both a victory lap for his recent run and a showcase of how much his live show has grown.
Carson released the 22-track album July 3, following a rollout built around an increasingly strange visual world: its artwork depicted a USB drive inserted into his neck, while a five-part short-film series directed by Joy Divizn leaned into science fiction, horror and surreal imagery.
Then came “Cartunez”, originally expected much earlier but delayed repeatedly before appearing Aug. 27 as a second disc to “Xperiment”, meant to lean into more “underground” sonics.
The arena venue certainly mattered for the show. While the tour has also played outdoor amphitheaters in cities like Miami and Orlando, Bojangles Coliseum’s enclosed bowl gave the Charlotte show a noticeably denser atmosphere with a huge pit and catwalk. With a venue named Coliseum, the crowd made good on the name, turning the floor into something that felt less like a concert pit and more like ancient Rome.
The crowd opened mosh pits for nearly every song, but one moment organized by @carolinaragers pushed things beyond the norm. I happened to be standing inside when one fan was lifted by the legs and swung around in a circle while others jumped over him like a human jump rope. The whole thing looked almost like the Bowser throw from “Super Mario 64”!
Carson opened with “Deaf Note,” one of two “Xperiment” tracks featuring Playboi Carti, his longtime mentor and the founder of record label Opium. He then moved immediately into “Lord Of Chaos,” followed by “Cartunez” opener “Scrape.” The back half leaned heavily on established favorites from 2023 and earlier, including “It’s Over,” “Lose It,” “Succubus,” “Me N My Kup,” “Rock N Roll,” “Freestyle 2,” “Overseas” and classic closer “Fighting My Demons.”
The music, though, was only part of the visual identity.
Carson performed in rare Chrome Hearts Cross Patch Leather Bondage Pants, paired with an Ed Hardy beanie and Heliot Emil hiking boots, also worn on the artwork for his 2025 single “Catastrophe.”
The Ed Hardy connection extends beyond the outfit, as an official Ed Hardy x Ken Carson collaboration was announced at ComplexCon 2025 and has expanded into its own section of the Xperimenting Tour’s official merchandise.
Xaviersobased carried the same attention to detail into his opening set, wearing Jordan 4s with a rare black-and-white pinstripe Supreme x Comme des Garçons x Harold Hunter reversible varsity jacket from the FW14 collection, completed with Balmain SS13 Green Canvas pants.
This was my third time seeing him perform, and every time he seems to go at full intensity from the moment he steps onstage. He throws himself into every song, constantly jumping, moving across the stage and interacting with the crowd, making him one of the most entertaining performers to watch, and from a photographer’s perspective, one of the best to shoot.
Prettifun’s set stood out for a different reason: Charlotte is home.
Born and raised in the city, the rapper returned home as one of the tour’s opening acts. Before his own music began gaining attention, Prettifun grew up in Charlotte, attended school there and even worked at a local Food Lion while producing music after his shifts. That made his Xperimenting Tour appearance a homecoming set rather than simply another stop on the schedule.
As a longtime fan, and with him being from North Carolina, it was surprisingly my first time seeing him perform live. Between Prettifun’s hometown set, Xaviersobased’s colorful performance and Carson’s fiery demeanor, the Charlotte stop felt less like three separate sets and more like one complete show built around the same atmosphere.
- Ken Carson Turns Charlotte Into an Xperiment - September 18, 2026
