The show must go on — and it did, even after a delay at Lovin’ Life Music Fest

Well, the one thing that we were all hoping wouldn’t happen at Lovin’ Life Music Fest did: a washout storm that shut down the festival.

Ahead of the three-day outdoor event, forecasts warned of potential showers and thunderstorms around the Charlotte area. On the first day, the blistering heat was more of a damper than the brief period of light rain, but that wasn’t the case Saturday.

The festival has been promoted as a “rain or shine” event, and after fans danced the night away in a downpour during Stevie Nicks’ set last year, many were prepared and willing to party anyway.

But late Saturday afternoon, the weather was so severe that everyone had to evacuate just a few hours after the gates opened.

The calm before the storm

North Carolina’s Petey Pablo was only about 10 minutes into his set on the same stage he sang on last year — repping Hornets gear this time instead of Panthers — before a slight sprinkle began.

It wasn’t long before fans started to trickle out from the crowds. Some pulled out plastic ponchos or rushed over to the merch tent to snag one. Others simply just kept dancing through the drizzle.

But shortly after, announcements came over the speakers throughout First Ward Park for everyone to seek shelter immediately at the 7th Street parking deck because of lightning within a six-mile radius.

Just before dinnertime — and minutes before the gates opened for Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s concert nearby at Bank of America Stadium — Lovin’ Life fans soaked in brightly colored “Island in the Sun” theme outfits were frantically scoping out spots to squeeze together out of the storm.

Bringing the festival to the food hall

Given that the festival is held in the heart of uptown Charlotte near the WFAE building, some bundled up under the awnings of nearby light rail stops. Most flocked next door to the city’s first food hall, The Market at 7th Street, which got so busy that it reached full capacity — and the entrance was eventually blocked off by staff.

Fans were packed shoulder to shoulder around the wooden tables inside, waiting in long lines to order from vendors and hovering over those lucky enough to grab a seat — including myself. I wandered around in circles for 25 minutes with a takeout order from Geno D’s Pizza before I could sit down.

Surprisingly, a lot of people didn’t let the situation rain on their parade and continued grabbing drinks, chatting and even taking selfies as if we were at the Lovin’ Life Culinary & Arts Village and not an overcrowded food hall.

“It’s just very packed obviously because of the weather, but people are very nice here in the South so it tends to not be that much of an issue,” a fan, 32-year-old Meghan Withers, told CharlotteFive.

“However, we’re all soaked, so our clothes are heavy. Everybody’s dripping. It’s probably gonna be a slipping hazard at some point.”

But as her friend, Cara Wimberley, put it — they were OK with bringing the party to the market.

“We definitely still have food, your drinks, your vendors, your merchandise here,” she explained. “I’ve never seen the market this packed, so hopefully it does really good business for them.”

Because of how badly she wanted to come to the festival, Withers actually rescheduled an international trip to Switzerland, Norway and Ireland. The pair were very optimistic that they could “finish Saturday strong with it being the second day.”

When the temporary delay was announced, festival organizers sent a text to fans saying that their team was working closely with local weather and safety officials to resume the event as soon as it’d be safe to do so.

But for nearly an hour and a half, no one knew what that would look like.

The shows go on

The duo of Wimberley and and Withers — like many other fans — hoped that performances would pick up where they left off when the gates reopened. But once everyone was allowed back in at 6:15 p.m., the festival continued with its original set time schedule, beginning with Lola Young and DJ Jazzy Jeff before Ludacris. Fans did not see shows from Gigi Perez or regional artist adolescent dreams.

With the heavy rain and windy 67 degree weather, I wouldn’t have been surprised if some called it a night early and went home.

Instead, many were rushing to the main Miller Lite Stage for Young, a rising star from London, and the Happy Thursday Spiked Refresher Stage to hear Ludacris’ most popular hits.

Though the splashes of rain kept sprinkling in, fortunately there wasn’t any more lightning that interfered with the headlining performances.

Mr. Worldwide in the Queen City

In what was arguably one of the most electrifying sets of the entire weekend, Pitbull took the stage sporting his signature sunglasses with the perfect high-energy opener to kick off the evening: “Don’t Stop the Party.”

From start to finish, the international superstar had the crowd hyped, even with songs he said he normally doesn’t perform at concerts — just for Charlotte, “North Cackalacky,” he said.

I overheard a fan behind me say, “I feel like I’m at a fiesta.” Between Pitbull’s outfit changes, spicy choreography with his dancers and random bursts of smoke on stage, I couldn’t agree more.

After apologizing for going over a little bit overtime, he closed out his set with a shoutout to headliners Weezer and a heartfelt “thank you” to festival organizers, the production team and everyone singing along.

“Without the fans, there’s no Pitbull, no movement, no revolution,” he said. “Thank y’all for the love. Thank y’all for the support, and thank y’all for the opportunity.”

Voyage to the Blue Planet

After a “desert surprise” playing Weekend One of Coachella, it was time for Weezer to make Charlotte its “Blue Planet” for the night.

A nod to the 30th anniversary of its Blue Album, the world-famous band’s show didn’t start out the way concerts typically do.

Rather than a musical intro, the rock band’s set began with a recording of a “breaking news broadcast,” announcing a space-themed voyage ahead the 1.5 hour show filled with their beloved classics, like “Say it Ain’t So,” “Island in the Sun” and “Beverly Hills.”

Reminiscent of Nicks’ performance last year, another rain shower slowly but surely became an added accessory to the show.

While that steered away some groups in the crowd who began exiting early, many fans stuck it out in the storm to sing their hearts out with the band.

“Thank you guys for sticking with us through the rain. Thank you guys for sticking with us through all these years,” lead vocalist Rivers Cuomo told the crowd toward the end of the set.

At this point, I’m crossing my fingers that this isn’t going to become a new streak for Saturday night headliners to come. But even if it does, I think today proved that, even in heavy rain, some fans are willing to weather any storm for a good show.

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This story was originally published May 4, 2025 at 6:53 AM.

Chyna Blackmon

The Charlotte Observer

Chyna Blackmon was a service journalism reporter for The Charlotte Observer. A native of the Carolinas, she grew up in Columbia, SC, and graduated from Queens University of Charlotte. She’s also worked in local television news in Charlotte, NC, and Richmond, VA. Support my work with a digital subscription