North Carolina

Skip the hotel headache: Book now for Lovin’ Life and Kendrick Lamar weekend in Charlotte

One of the Lovin’ Life fixtures at Lovin’ Life Music Fest.
One of the Lovin’ Life fixtures at Lovin’ Life Music Fest. CharlotteFive

It’s almost time for what will likely be one of the busiest weekends in the city.

Lovin’ Life Music Fest returns to uptown Charlotte May 2-4 which also happens to be the same weekend hip hop icon Kendrick Lamar and SZA bring the “Grand National Tour” to Bank of America Stadium about two miles away.

Even on an average weekend, the bustling city center packed with restaurants, bars and museums can get pretty packed.

To give context, about 80,000 people total attended Lovin’ Life Music Fest last year, CharlotteFive previously reported. According to a spokesperson for Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, uptown occupancy rates for on the festival’s opening day was 89.9%, 82.7% on its second and 76.3% on the the final day.

Imagining that crowd combined with the one that the 75,037-seated Bank of America stadium can hold, it’s an understatement to say the music double header weekend will be packed.

The CRVA told us that three of the county’s four highest hotel occupancy rates happened in the past year, and all four were attributed to events at BoA Stadium:

If you’re traveling from out of town for either event, you’ll want to book a room fast if you haven’t already done so.

This year, Hilton Charlotte Uptown and Omni Charlotte Hotel will both be offering fans attending Lovin’ Life Music fans a 15% special discount rate, organizers told CharlotteFive.

If those are already booked up, there are more than a dozen other hotels near the concert and festival. Here is a list of uptown hotels compiled by Center City Partners:

AC Hotel Charlotte City Center

Location: 220 E Trade St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Aloft Charlotte City Center

Location: 210 E Trade St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Charlotte Marriott City Center

Location: 100 W Trade St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Courtyard Charlotte City Center

Location: 237 S Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28202

DoubleTree by Hilton Charlotte City Center

Location: 230 N College St, Charlotte, NC 28202

The Dunhill Hotel

Location: 237 N Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Embassy Suites Charlotte

Location: 4800 South Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28217

Fairfield Inn & Suites Charlotte Uptown

Location: 201 S McDowell St, Charlotte, NC 28204

Grand Bohemian Hotel Charlotte

Location: 201 W Trade St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Hampton Inn Charlotte Uptown

Location: 530 E M.L.K. Jr Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28202

Hilton Charlotte Uptown

Location: 222 E 3rd St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Hilton Garden Inn Charlotte Uptown

Location: 508 E M.L.K. Jr Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28202

Home2 Suites Charlotte Uptown

Location: 610 S Caldwell St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Hyatt House Charlotte/Center City

Location: 435 E Trade St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Hyatt Place Charlotte Downtown

Location: 222 S Caldwell St, Charlotte, NC 28202

The Ivey’s Hotel

Location: 127 N Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28202

JW Marriott Charlotte

Location: 600 S College St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel

Location: 303 S Church St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Le Méridien Charlotte

Location: 555 S McDowell St, North Tower, Charlotte, NC 28204

Omni Charlotte Hotel

Location: 132 E Trade St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Residence Inn Charlotte City Center

Location: 220 E Trade St #1400, Charlotte, NC 28202

The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte

Location: 201 E Trade St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Sheraton Charlotte Hotel

Location: 555 S McDowell St, South Tower Charlotte, NC 28204

SpringHill Suites Charlotte City Center

Location: 311 E 5th St, Charlotte, NC 28202

The Westin Charlotte

Location: 601 S College St, Charlotte, NC 28202

This story was originally published March 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Skip the hotel headache: Book now for Lovin’ Life and Kendrick Lamar weekend in Charlotte."

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
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