Lovin’ Life Music Festival’s inaugural debut: What worked — and what didn’t

When it was all said and done, more than 80,000 festivalgoers flooded First Ward Park in Charlotte for the inaugural Lovin’ Life Music Fest.

Performances from more than 40 artists, including headliners Post Malone, Stevie Nicks and Noah Kahan, along with a variety of food and retail vendors made, for an exciting weekend guests won’t soon forget.

On Sunday, organizers confirmed the festival will return on May 2-4 in 2025, signaling that Lovin’ Life is on its way to becoming the city’s signature event.

“I think it’s been great,” Bob Durkin, co-founder of Southern Entertainment, the company that brought the festival to Charlotte, said a few hours before the event concluded. “It’s so exciting to see how Charlotte came out in droves, and so many people came from all over the country.”

When I spoke to Durkin on Friday before the festival gates opened, something he said stood out to me: “Music creates community.”

And he lamented a similar idea just before the festival’s final act.

“It’s been so great meeting the city of Charlotte,” said Durkin. “They really created a community here within the festival.”

[TELL US YOUR THOUGHTS: Was Charlotte’s first Lovin’ Life Music Fest a success? Tell us what you think.]

Though the weather at some points was less than ideal and festivalgoers experienced a few mishaps along the way, including an entrance delay on opening day due to defective wristbands and seemingly endless waits for food from onsite vendors, Durkin’s characterization of the festival as a “community” couldn’t be more accurate.

There were little examples, including festivalgoers sharing sunscreen on Friday to prevent the inevitable sunburn they would get otherwise, and guests running to the aid of a crowd member experiencing symptoms of dehydration.

Communities typically rally around their own, which is exactly what organizers did in a touching tribute to the four officers who were killed last Monday while trying to serve a warrant at a home in east Charlotte.

Durkin said he and his team gave full VIP access to the concert to the four officers who were injured in the incident, along with their families.

“We we’re just happy to be able to do that for the city, and for the officers who protect us and put their lives on the line,” Durkin said.

What was missing at Lovin’ Life?

Durkin said he received a lot of praise from guests who brought their families to the festival, from Millennials and Gen Z who went to see Post Malone, Noah Kahan and Maggie Rogers, to older generations who were in the front row when The Beach Boys and Stevie Nicks took the stage.

But the lack of diversity in the acts — and in the crowd — were glaringly obvious.

As my colleague Théoden Janes pointed out in his column, it would have been nice if an R&B superstar made an appearance at the festival. With its emphasis on acts from the Carolinas, invitations could have been extended to Fantasia Barrino, who recent starred in the remake of “The Color Purple,” or Charlotte native Anthony Hamilton, who undoubtedly would have rocked the crowd with hits like “Charlene” and “Comin’ From Where I’m From.”

I missed the second half of the festival on Saturday, meaning I didn’t get the opportunity to witness Petey Pablo’s performance of “Raise Up” paying homage to the Carolina Panthers, or DaBaby’s (very) young stepson and nephew make it rain on the crowd with $1 bills.

But I was there for Sainted Trap Choir’s performance.

It seemed like many were unfamiliar with the group from Charlotte, who rose to fame on the most recent season of “America’s Got Talent,” but the crowd’s reaction from their set was certainly indication that festivalgoers embrace music from Black artists.

The choir is known for putting a gospel twist on popular hip-hop songs. I never thought I would hear the gospel version of tracks like Dorrough’s “Ice Cream Paint Job” or Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” but the blend of sopranos, altos, tenors and basses reminiscent of many Sunday mornings listening to music from church pews created an effortless sound that had the whole audience dancing.

Then, keeping with the theme of community, the group ended their performance with their rendition of “Purple Rain” by Prince to pay homage to the officers who lost their lives in Charlotte last Monday.

Room for improvement

Aside from the logistical obstacles, friends Manuela Quintero and Jenesis Alonso, who traveled to Charlotte from Washington D.C. and Miami, respectively, said Lovin’ Life lacked some features that other festivals they’d been to had, including Coachella.

The festival did include an interactive gaming trailer and booth from Two Kings Casino. However, likely due to limited space, it didn’t have the games, art experiences and brand activations you’d typically see at similar events.

“I just wish the festival had a little bit more stuff to do outside of listening to the music, and the food of course,” Quintero said, noting that similar events have more activities for guests while they wait for artists to perform. “It just seems like it’s revolving around the music, which is great, but I feel like it’s missing a lot of elements that other festivals had.”

With planning for the 2025 Lovin’ Life Music Fest already underway, Durkin told me he plans to add more experiences to make the event an even bigger success.

“Get your tickets early,” Durkin said to those who plan to attend the festival next year. “You can expect everything you saw this year and more as we grow this event. We’re on our way to becoming a real national festival brand, and we’re really excited about that.”

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