Lovin’ Life Music Fest expects 90K to attend. How will it impact Charlotte’s economy?
With 90,000 attendees expected to descend on Charlotte on the first weekend of May for the inaugural Lovin’ Life Music Fest, the event will generate millions for the city’s economy.
Organizers expect the three-day music festival to have a $30 million economic impact in Charlotte during its first year, according to a news release.
“It has been a long-time dream of ours to bring a major music festival to our hometown of Charlotte and it truly takes a village to plan an event of this magnitude,” Southern Entertainment Co-Founder and Partner Bob Durkin said in the release.
While the actual economic impact of the event remains to be seen, Southern Entertainment has enjoyed success putting on other festivals, including Carolina Country Music Fest, a four-day outdoor country music festival held annually in Myrtle Beach during Memorial Day weekend.
According to Southern Entertainment, the festival has sold out the last three consecutive years, with around 35,000 people in attendance.
Days ahead of last year’s event, hotels in Myrtle Beach were booked up to about 78%, WBTW reported. Carolina Country Music Fest has had an economic impact of more than $20 million over the last few years, city officials said.
How are music festivals beneficial to local economies?
Music festivals are often used to promote tourism and boost regional economies, according to TSE Entertainment, an entertainment agency based in Texas.
“Economic impact studies of music festivals and live events show a positive impact on local communities,” TSE Entertainment says. “Festivals foster event tourism and bring tourists and revenue to a city, and they create jobs, boost tax revenues, and generate business for hoteliers and local businesses.”
Economic impact of other NC festivals
Raleigh’s 2022 Dreamville Festival — a two-day, multi-stage festival headlined by headlined by North Carolina native J. Cole, Lil Baby, Wale and T-Pain — generated $6.7 million in direct economic impact within Wake County, according to data from the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
Roughly 80,000 people attended the event, with tickets sold in all 50 states, Washington, D.C, the U.S. Virgin Islands and 20 countries, according to the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
“My team and I continue to be awed by the overwhelming support we’ve received since closing out the second Dreamville Festival this April. But to now fully realize the festival’s positive impact on the local economy and tourism, it truly is unbelievable,” Dreamville partner and festival President Adam Roy told the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau in 2022.
More than 100,000 people attended last year’s Dreamville Festival, headlined by Cole, Drake and Usher, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau data show.
The festival pumped an estimated $7.8 million into Raleigh’s economy, with every hotel in downtown sold out and 40% of local vendors coming from Wake County, ABC11 reported.
