Gov. Roy Cooper invited Music Midtown to NC. Could it be held in Charlotte?
After organizers of an Atlanta music festival announced its cancellation, Gov. Roy Cooper offered organizers the option to move Music Midtown to North Carolina.
The festival was scheduled for Sept. 17-18 with headliners My Chemical Romance, Future, Jack White and Fall Out Boy. Other artists that were slated to perform included Phoenix, Mitski, 2 Chainz and Freddie Gibbs.
There was speculation that the festival was canceled due to Georgia’s recent rollback on gun restrictions in public spaces. According to the Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, the festival’s cancellation could cost Georgia’s economy $50 million.
On Tuesday, Cooper on Twitter offered an invitation to move the festival to North Carolina.
Could Music Midtown be held in Charlotte?
If Music Midtown organizers decide to move the festival -- which draws crowds of 50,000 people to N.C. -- there are only a couple of places it could be held in Charlotte.
PNC Music Pavilion, one of Charlotte’s largest music venues, has a maximum capacity of 18,000, according to Live Nation. Other notable outdoor music venues, like the Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheater, can only hold a few thousand guests.
Bank of America Stadium -- home to the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC -- has 75,525 seats, not including on-field accommodations, according to the Panthers website.
More than 40,000 fans showed up for country star Garth Brooks’ concert at the stadium last month, and around 45,000 fans packed the house for Billy Joel’s performance in April, The Charlotte Observer reported.
If the concert took place on its original dates, there wouldn’t be any scheduling conflicts. The Panthers are scheduled to travel to New England for their second preseason game and Charlotte FC will take on Chicago Fire FC at Soldier Field that weekend.
Has Charlotte hosted large music festivals in the past?
Many music festivals around the U.S. similar to Music Midtown draw tens of thousands of guests, like Coachella, Lollapalooza, and South by Southwest. But Charlotte has never hosted a festival of that size.
Last year, thousands of festival-goers attended the Breakaway Music Festival at Charlotte Motor Speedway headlined by Martin Garrix, G-Eazy and Swae Lee. This year’s festival, scheduled for Sept. 30-Oct. 1, will include performances from The Kid LAROI, Illenium and Tiesto.
Charlotte Motor Speedway also hosted Speed Street, a long-running festival previously held in uptown, for the first time this year, the Observer reported. The event featured performances from Flo Rida and Steve Miller.
Music Midtown has not confirmed any plans to move the event but will issue refunds for those who purchased tickets on their website.
News & Observer reporter Kristen Johnson contributed to this story.
