Lovin’ Life reveals most of the remainder of its 2025 lineup, including third major headliner
Almost 2-1/2 months after Lovin’ Life Music Fest revealed that it had booked three marquee names for its sophomore year — a bit longer of a wait than some might have anticipated — the second wave of announcements is finally upon us.
In all, 38 artists were officially added on Wednesday morning to a May lineup that is expected to eventually grow to more than 50.
Skip ahead to the bottom if you simply want to do a quick scan of the full list, but for the average fan arguably the most important development here — as it pertains to the 2025 edition of the already-hugely-buzzworthy Charlotte festival — is that the top of the bill has juuuust about fully taken shape.
In the prime-time slots on Friday, May 2: Benson Boone, who belted his hit “Beautiful Things” as part of a racy performance Sunday night in L.A., where he was nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy; followed by Gwen Stefani as the closer. Both singers were announced in November.
In the prime-time slots on Saturday, May 3: An artist to be announced, then rock band Weezer (just announced Wednesday).
And headlining on Sunday, May 4: Teddy Swims (just announced Wednesday), who as a fellow nominee of Boone’s for Best New Artist performed his hit “Lose Control” during Sunday night’s Grammy telecast; with Dave Matthews Band (previously announced) closing out the weekend.
Also noteworthy among Wednesday’s announcements are the second-stage headliners, to include New Orleans rock band The Revivalists on the Friday night of the festival and rapper Ludacris on Saturday night; North Carolina-based rapper Petey Pablo, presently the only returning artist from the 2024 festival (when he proved a crowd-pleasing favorite); and Gaston County teen Bailey Marie, who famously was expelled from her Christian private school for performing her country music in venues where alcohol was being served.
Meanwhile, Bob Durkin, co-founder and partner of Southern Entertainment, which is responsible for Lovin’ Life, told The Charlotte Observer “more big names” — including Sunday night’s second-stage headliner — will be announced “in the next week or two.”
In regards to the measured roll-out of announcements, he said, “We slowly put it out there to keep that excitement. ... This time we’ve only held back a couple of names, but yeah, it’s to keep some excitement going, and (keep) people ... guessing.” (By the way, the Best New Artist award went to Chappell Roan, someone we’d imagine many would love to see become a late add here ...)
Currently, the only passes on sale are for all three days of the Lovin’ Life Fest, and will cost you $324.33 for general-admission; $563.29 for VIP tickets; and $1,358.45 for “Super VIP” access. (Prices include ticket fees.) Single-day tickets aren’t being sold at the moment.
Organizers once again expect 90,000 festivalgoers, based on projections that match last year’s averages of 30,000 people per day.
They also expect Lovin’ Life to build on the success of an inaugural year that saw it crack USA Today’s list of the top 10 new festivals in the U.S. to check out this year. Durkin said that rave reviews — combined with the cancellations of Atlanta’s Music Midtown festival and Alabama’s Hangout Fest — mean “we really have an opportunity to be the biggest and best festival in Southeast.”
“All of our partners, sponsors, vendors, all had great things to say,” he added. “And we take all that feedback and then adjust our game to see if we can make everything better for the second year.”
Lovin’ Life Music Fest Lineup
Friday: Gwen Stefani, Benson Boone, The Revivalists, Flipturn, Switchfoot, Evan Honer, Gable Price and Friends, Dogpark, Darren Kiely, Artikal Sound System, Leone & The Ascension, The Garrett Huffman Band, Bailey Marie, Camisole.
Saturday: Weezer, Lola Young, Ludacris, Gigi Perez, Petey Pablo, Dexter and the Moonrocks, Vincent Lima, The Runarounds, Anella, Adolescent Dreams, Austin McNeill, Harvey Street, Sophia, Weekend Friend.
Sunday: Dave Matthews Band, Teddy Swims, Mike, BigXthaPlug, The 502s, Sammy Rae & Friends, charlieonnafriday, Penelope Road, Stranger Company, Fudge, Meredith Parks, Modern Moxie, Chandler Carpenter & The Reckless Souls.
This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Lovin’ Life reveals most of the remainder of its 2025 lineup, including third major headliner."
