A Voice Built for the Arena: Teddy Swims Brings The UGLY Tour to Charlotte
By Scott Jelleyman | Queen City Backstage
Photography © Scott Jelleyman / A&J Creative Photography
Spectrum Center, Charlotte • October 18, 2026
Sunday night took me to Spectrum Center to photograph Teddy Swims for Queen City Backstage. I covered both opening acts, MarcLo and St. Paul & The Broken Bones, before waiting to head back out for Teddy’s 9 p.m. set. It was a chance to spend an evening with three artists whose music gives the voice room to do the work.
Swims has a voice you recognize almost immediately. There’s grit in it, but also warmth, and his songs leave plenty of room for both. That combination has carried him from singing covers online to headlining arenas. On October 18, that journey brought The UGLY Tour to Uptown Charlotte.
A long way from the cover videos
Born Jaten Dimsdale, the Georgia singer built an audience through online covers before “Lose Control” introduced his own music to a much bigger public. The song gave listeners a clear sense of what makes him compelling: a big voice delivering something vulnerable, with a melody that stays with you.
The UGLY Tour takes that success into North American arenas. The run announced by Warner Records stretches from September 22 in Kansas City to November 18 in Los Angeles. Charlotte landed between Nashville on October 16 and Atlanta on October 20.
There’s newer music in the picture, too. “Mr. Know It All” pairs vintage grooves with a story about getting in your own way in a relationship. It fits the emotional territory that has drawn people to Swims while giving them another reason to follow where he goes next.
The night started with the openers
My coverage began well before the headliner. MarcLo and St. Paul & The Broken Bones each deserve a place in the story of this show.
Marcus “MarcLo” Lomax has helped create songs many listeners will already know. A singer, songwriter and producer associated with The Monsters & Strangerz, his credits include “The Middle” and “Prisoner.” His solo music puts his own voice out front, drawing on contemporary R&B and a songwriter’s feel for a good hook.
St. Paul & The Broken Bones bring a different character to the bill. The Birmingham, Alabama band pairs Paul Janeway’s gospel-rooted singing with a horn-driven sound. Alongside MarcLo and Swims, they made this a lineup worth getting to the venue early for.
Charlotte’s place on the tour
For those of us covering music here, an arena date like this is a chance to bring readers closer to an artist they may have first heard through a phone speaker or on the radio. The setting changes, and suddenly that familiar voice has a stage the size of Spectrum Center’s around it.
QCB did not have a confirmed attendance figure at publication. What the booking does show is how far Swims’ touring career has grown, with Charlotte part of an arena run across the country.
It also belongs to a much broader local concert scene. Spectrum Center brings major headliners into Uptown; places such as The Underground and Middle C Jazz offer very different ways to spend a night with live music. Covering those rooms as well as the arena is part of what I want QCB to keep doing.
This time, the assignment was Teddy Swims, with two opening acts to photograph before his set. The eight photographs with this story come from that Sunday night in Charlotte. I’m glad to be able to share the evening through my lens.
Explore the artists
Teddy Swims: official music, tour dates and tickets
St. Paul & The Broken Bones: official website
MarcLo: songwriter credits and music
Spectrum Center: official Charlotte event listing
Tour and artist background: Spectrum Center, Warner Records and artist/publisher materials. Concert photography by Scott Jelleyman.
