If you were to ask me what my first impression was about Charlotte’s inaugural Lovin’ Life Music Fest — my very first impression, upon arriving Friday afternoon — I’d have to be honest and say that it was not so fabulous.
I hadn’t even made it inside yet. After getting to the gates ahead of their scheduled 1 p.m. opening, I was able to find a place in line only about 100 yards back. Unfortunately, for a half-hour that line barely budged, and a bit puzzlingly, Artikal Sound System kicked off the festival right on time anyway, belting out one of its reggae songs, then another, then another, for a crowd of (from what I’m told) just slightly larger than zero.
Once main-entrance staffers finally did manage to get to moving fans through and inside at a good clip, the band had nearly finished its half-hour set. Not the most graceful start.
Uh-oh, I thought to myself. This could be a looong 10 hours.
But as it turned out, most of the rest of the impressions that struck me as I navigated the first of Lovin’ Life’s three days were positive. And by the time fireworks were launched high into the uptown sky to punctuate the end of Post Malone’s headlining set at a few minutes past 11 o’clock, the overarching impression I had formed was this: Lovin’ Life is, in my opinion, one-third of the way to becoming the biggest and most brilliant celebrations of live music Charlotte has hosted in decades. Perhaps in the city’s history even.
In order to get the rest of the way there, however, organizers need to catch a break that’s completely out of their control — and I’m not talking about a surprise visit from Taylor Swift. (Speaking of which, forget about it. There’s a better chance of the festival being formally renamed “Hatin’ Life” on over the weekend than there is of Swifties in Charlotte getting their wacky wish. Sorry, guys.)
The good news is that Lovin’ Life didn’t need Tay Tay to be a success, at least on Friday. Everything looked and sounded great.
I hadn’t known what to expect. It was pretty difficult to try to picture what the site would actually look like three months ago, when all there was to see were lots of nondescript acres of asphalt, concrete, gravel and grass. Pretty tough, too, to look at an artist’s rendering of the layout and envision how the sound from one stage wouldn’t compete with the sound from another.
So, to walk the grounds in the early afternoon and see the finished festival all dressed up in its colorful finery and ready to party with an expected after-dark crowd of 25,000-plus people was a little surreal.
The whole complex is larger and more sprawling than I imagined when it was first explained to me, or than it looks as an illustration.
The main stage setup alone is gargantuan, more akin to what you’d see at a Bank of America Stadium concert than at a Spectrum Center show, with its apex shooting 10 stories into the sky and two high-def video screens measuring probably 50 feet square each (and positioned high enough on the sides that at least one can be seen even from some of the farther-flung reaches of the network of lots and lawns open to fans). I also moved around to about a dozen various spots — close in, far away, off to the left, down on the right, etc. — and the sound mix was represented with remarkable clarity and consistency no matter where I stood.
Meanwhile, unless you’re intentionally trying to position yourself directly in the sweet spot (sour spot?) between stages when two bands happen to be jamming at the same time, I’m pleased to report that the sound from another stage won’t bleed into the area around the stage you’re trying to enjoy much, if at all.
With the exception of Post Malone, who was technically nine minutes late for his 9:30 p.m. start, all 18 other acts appeared at their scheduled times Friday with the preciseness of Swiss trains.
Perhaps also like clockwork, the atmosphere and energy began to shift right around 5 p.m., as the uptown workweek unofficially ended.
At 5, soul-pop singer-songwriter David Kushner found himself performing on the main stage to one of the largest crowds he’s ever been in front of, thanks at least in part to festival-goers staking out the best spots they could for Posty. At 5:30, younger Gen-Xers and older millennials jammed the area around the second stage to rock out with Dashboard Confessional. Then, back on the main stage, 19-year-old Jessie Murph had the swelling crowd roaring with a fiery cover of Rihanna’s “S&M” — and a flashy outfit punctuated by long black hair that spilled down over the front of a heavy white poncho. Her set overlapped slightly with The Chainsmokers’, during which Andrew “Drew” Taggart uncorked zingers (“I’ve never seen more khaki shorts in my entire life”) while he and Alexander “Alex” Pall turned the second-stage area into a giant club.
As soon as the duo wrapped with a mash-up of its hit 2016 “Closer” and Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” at 7:45, the singing of the national anthem followed a brief ceremony in which the four law-enforcement officers killed last Monday in Charlotte were remembered — and a small group of surviving officers were honored.
After that, with the second stage closed for the night, the festival took on a massive single form for the first time — for alt-hip-hopper Dominic Fike, then for Post Malone. (And for food, too: At sunset, the line for Bojangles was so long it took an hour to get through.)
I mean, it was a sight hard to process. Frankly, in a general-admission setting, 25,000-plus people can look like 100,000. If you step way back, the size of the crowd can take your breath away. If you wade deep enough into the most thickly populated sections, it can be anxiety-inducing.
And despite all the alcohol introduced to the mix by the many on-site bars, the mood never felt tense. Although there may have been fights, although there surely were arguments, I saw none. While I would bet some people must have thrown up or fallen down, neither of those things happened where I could see them.
No, from the dozens of different vantage points I took on Friday, I mostly saw dancing and smiling people by the thousands, against the striking backdrop of our gleaming skyline. I felt positive energy and good vibes everywhere.
But I also, ominously, felt raindrops.
Fortunately, they never materialized into much more than a soft rain. I heard that hawkers outside the perimeter had broken out boxes and bags of ponchos that they were trying to sell while they could, but I only saw a handful of people wearing them inside. By the time Post Malone came on stage and knocked out his high-energy, crowd-pleasing set while clad in a Luke Combs T-shirt and cutoff jorts, the air was dry and cool.
We’d mercifully dodged a bullet.
However, there’s more rain in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday — and possible thunderstorms. The latter is, obviously, the key concern. I won’t jinx it by spelling out what happens if lightning enters the area, but …
… well, like I said: In order for Lovin’ Life to truly be an unmitigated success, organizers really need to catch a break with the weather.
Or, if they can’t, is there maybe someone in Charlotte who’s owed a favor by Taylor Swift? Anyone?
