1 weekend. 3 music festivals. How will Lovin’ Life Music Fest in Charlotte compare?
The countdown is on for the inaugural Lovin’ Life Music Fest in uptown Charlotte this spring, but it won’t be the only big event drawing in music lovers around the Carolinas.
The team behind other major festivals across the country, including Carolina Country Music Fest and the Barefoot Country Music Fest, is bringing more than 40 artists together to perform at Lovin’ Life May 3-5.
The three-day festival is one of three major music festivals in the region happening that weekend, along with Breakaway Music Festival’s Another World in Concord and Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta.
It’ll truly be the ultimate festival weekend packed with performances from some of the hottest rock, rap and bass artists in the country — a testament to just how much the festival industry has grown over the years, especially in the South.
Making Charlotte a ‘music city’
Music festivals are not a new experience to the Carolinas, but Lovin’ Life will be the first of its kind in Charlotte, especially one of this size, designed as a “Charlotte-flavored Lollapalooza” with performances across three stages.
“After producing events all over the East Coast, we’ve dreamt of bringing a major music festival to Charlotte, and the Lovin’ Life Music Fest is our passion project,” said Bob Durkin, co-founder and partner of Southern Entertainment.
“We’re thrilled to support the ongoing effort to make our hometown of Charlotte a Music City in such a big way.”
While it won’t be as big as Lollapalooza, Chicago’s 9-stage event with 170 bands from all over the world, Lovin’ Life will still be one of the biggest local events of the year — with about 90,000 people expected to attend. It’s also likely to be the largest festival of the three happening that weekend.
A weekend of rock, rap, bass and more
Aside from the crowds, Lovin’ Life Music Fest will also have a different music vibe too.
The lineup is loaded with artists of multiple genres, while Breakaway’s Another World is an EDM festival and Shaky Knees a rock festival.
Shaky Knees, held in Atlanta’s Central Park, is what organizers call a “rock lover’s dream” with more than 60 bands, including up-and-coming artists. This year will be no different with big stars like Weezer, Foo Fighters and Noah Kahan — who is also headlining Lovin’ Life.
For EDM fans, there is a lot of excitement for Another World too, Breakaway’s newest bass event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The multi-city tour hosts festivals in Tampa, Boston, Nashville and other major cities every year, but this will be one of two in Charlotte with more than 20 artists performing. It’ll also be the first time local fans can camp out at the venue during the festival, in cars, RVs or tents at the Speedway.
Another World Music Festival
Date: May 3-4
Location: Charlotte Motor Speedway, 6570 Bruton Smith Blvd, Concord, NC 28027
Time: 4-11 p.m. Friday; 3-11 p.m. Saturday
Cost: $129+
Artist lineup: Excision, NGHTMRE, Of The Trees, Svdden Death, Zomboy, Bear Grillz + Bad News Bears, Dr. Fresch, Kai Wachi, Habstrakt, Space Laces, Kompany b2b Calcium, Level Up, Layz, Hairitage b2b Drinkurwater, ALLEYCVT, Emorfik, Koven, Levity, Jon Casey, SuperAve. Meduso and Freaky.
Lovin’ Life Music Fest
Date: May 3-5
Location: 300 N Brevard St., Charlotte, NC 28202
Time: 1-11 p.m.
Cost: $269+
Artist lineup: Post Malone, Stevie Nicks, Noah Kahan, Maggie Rogers, Mt. Joy, Young the Giant, DaBaby, Dominic Fike, Jessie Murph, The Struts, David Kushner, Dashboard Confessional and more.
Shaky Knees Music Festival
Date: May 3-5
Location: Central Park, 395 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30308
Time: Details not yet announced
Cost: $165+
Artist lineup: Noah Kahan, Arcade Fire, Young the Giant, Interpol, The Revivalists, Yves Tumor, Metric, Weezer, Queens of the Stone Age, The Offspring, Girl in Red, Foo Fighters, Billy Idol, Portugal, The Man and more.
Festival-hopping 101
Being the same weekend, the festivals do overlap, but you could attend all three if you’re feeling really ambitious (and really want to splurge on tickets and a road trip).
[RELATED: How to spend a weekend in Atlanta, including landmark must-sees and local hotspots]
Of course, there are a lot of factors that go into festival-hopping, but if you were considering it for this weekend, it may be best to tackle the logistics this way:
Kick off the party in Atlanta at Shaky Knees: Times haven’t been announced yet, but make sure to give yourself plenty of driving time since Central Park is 243 miles from Charlotte.
Road trip back to Concord for Another World: The festival gates will open at 3 p.m. so if you leave Atlanta by 10:30 a.m., you should make it to the speedway on time (if you’re lucky enough to not run into traffic on the 256 mile drive back)
Wrap up the weekend at Lovin’ Life Music Fest: (Assuming you’re back home in the Charlotte area) wake up and pop up over to uptown for a full day of festival fun at the Lovin’ Life finale from 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
At this time, Shaky Knees is the only festival that offers single-day tickets for the show. Tickets for Another World and Lovin’ Life Music Fest cover entry for the entirety of the events.
But whether you decide to go to one or all three, each festival is expected to be one to remember for fans across the region.
