Concert Recap: Cheap Trick's "All Washed Up" Tour in Wilmington, NC (6/7/2026)

Classic rock will always have a special place in my heart — some of my favorite artists of all time include Alice Cooper, Rush, and Blue Öyster Cult, and there's something about the music from the 70s and 80s that just can't be replicated. I love several modern artists of different styles, but classic rock just scratches an itch that other genres can't to this day. Any time I see that an old-school band is playing nearby, I try to do everything in my ability to attend, and Cheap Trick's recent show in Wilmington, NC as part of their "All Washed Up" Tour was no exception.

I was lucky enough to have a photo pass for this show (thanks to their publicist, Ken Weinsten from Big Hassle Media), and much like my experience with photographing Boys Like Girls earlier this spring, photographing Cheap Trick at the Wilson Center over the weekend was one of the biggest full-circle moments of my photography career. Full disclosure, I was a college student at UNC-Wilmington when Cheap Trick first played at the Wilson Center in the fall of 2019, but I ended up missing it due to a scheduling conflict, which is something that I've regretted for years. When their return on this tour was announced, there was nothing that was going to stop me from going this time, and this show ended up being my first time seeing Cheap Trick live — from playing their songs on "Guitar Hero" to religiously watching highlights from their set at the 2011 Download Festival on YouTube, I've grown up being a pretty big Cheap Trick fan and have wanted to see them live for quite a while. Fast forward several years, and I'm happy to say that the wait was well worth it.

Cheap Trick hit the stage right out of the gate with no openers, and got straight to business with two tracks from their In Color album, the classic concert opener "Hello There" and the underrated "Come On, Come On." From the jump, one thing was made clear — the band still sounds incredible to this day, proving that age isn't stopping them anytime soon. They're still playing hits like "Dream Police" and "The Flame" in their original tunings all these years later, proving that age is only a mindset. Despite the title of their latest record 'All Washed Up,' their concerts show that they're still far from calling it a career.

Despite the tour being named after their new album All Washed Up, the setlist was very 70s-heavy, mostly featuring material from their first four albums. The crowd mostly consisted sisted of elder folks who have likely been around since the beginning of the band's career, so I'm sure they enjoyed hearing the material that they're most familiar with — personally, I was excited to hear one song from All Washed Up, "Twelve Gates," and would've loved to have heard one or two songs from more recent releases like 2015's Bang, Zoom, Crazy... Hello. That being said, with this being my first time seeing Cheap Trick live, I loved getting to hear all the classic hits and fan favorites than one could've expected.

Photographing this show was a dream come true too — being up close + seeing bassist Tom Petersson's insane 12-string bass and guitarist Rick Nielsen's wildly decorated mic stand (along with his eclectic guitar collection throughout the show) with my own eyes was a lot of fun. I also had a blast using my Ghost FX filter from Prism Lens FX to try replicating the swirling of the washing machines on the cover of their All Washed Up album cover and tour flyer for some of my photos.

As I said earlier, seeing Cheap Trick live for the first time was a long time coming, and I'm ecstatic that I was able to check them off the photography bucketlist as well — they sounded fantastic, brought the upbeat energy that one can expect from a rock and roll show, and I hope I get to see them again sometime soon.

Cheap Trick Setlist:

1. Hello There
2. Come On, Come On
3. Elo Kiddies
4. Ain't That a Shame (Fats Domino cover)
5. In the Street (Big Star cover)
6. Southern Girls
7. Big Eyes
8. California Man (The Move cover)
9. Twelve Gates
10. High Roller
11. I Know What I Want
12. The Flame
13. I Want You to Want Me
14. Surrender
15. Dream Police

Encore

16. Auf Wiedersehen
17. Goodnight

Cheap Trick's "All Washed Up" Tour continues throughout the summer, and the band will even be joining fellow legends ZZ Top in August and October. For all tour dates and to buy tickets, click here.

To keep up with Cheap Trick, click here.