Mary J. Blige, George W. Bush and everyone else coming to North Carolina’s biggest stages in September

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) – Alan Jackson is on his last tour. Mary J. Blige follows him. That’s in the middle of the Central Carolina Fair, after a reptile festival and before the tacos and margarita festival. You can also toss in Mean Girls, Blue’s Clues, hockey and George W. Bush.

If you are looking for something to entertain you other than college and pro football during the days when summer melts into fall, the major facilities across the central swathe of North Carolina have plenty of options for September.

Alan Jackson performs at the 56th annual Academy of Country Music Awards in 2021. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)

We would be remiss, too, if we didn’t mention that great, free music celebration, The North Carolina Folk Festival, will take over downtown Greensboro on Sept. 9-11 with some 18 performers across various venues. George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic headlines, but you have plenty of variety on the schedule.

The Central Carolina Fair is a two-weekend affair at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, when midway rides, games and calorie-infested treats take over the parking lot on Sept. 9-11 and Sept. 14-18.

xxx — Mary J. Blige arrives at the BET Awards in June. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

There’s also the Greensboro Fall Home Show that first weekend (Sept. 9-10), which is when Jackson rides into town (Sept. 10).

Jackson, who three times has been named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association and twice has won Grammy awards, is calling this the “Last Call: One For the Road.” Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which affects his balance, had caused him to stop touring a few years ago. This is one last appearance.

Blige arrives on Sept. 17 with her hip-hop show for the next stop on her tour. Blige has won nine Grammy awards, four American Music Awards and 10 Billboard Awards. She also will be performing at the Spectrum Centre in Charlotte on Sept. 21.

We will let you figure out your taste for reptiles and margaritas and homes, but over at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts, “Mean Girls” arrives for a 5-day run, Sept. 13-18. This is a musical based on the movie and built on a book by actor Tina Fey.

Former U.S. President George W. Bush speaks in 2021. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

Bush, the 43rd president, will be at the Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem as the first guest for Wake Forest University’s Face to Face Speaker Forum. He will share the stage on Sept. 14 for a conversation with presidential historian Jon Mecham. Bush also is a published artist, if you didn’t know.

Otherwise, there are a few noteworthy appearances next month:

The Temptations and The Four Tops will bring Motown to the Durham Performing Arts Center on Sept. 9
The rodeo stops at the Joel Coliseum that weekend, Sept. 9-11, too.
The Carolina Hurricanes return to the ice against the Stanley Cup runners-up, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in their exhibition opener on Sept. 27.
And “Blue’s Clues” will bring its cartoon fun to the Tanger Center on Sept. 25.

It all starts Friday with the Green Queen Bingo in Piedmont Hall at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. Here’s a deeper list of events, with links to sites where you can learn about times and tickets and other information.