Charlotte's annual music conference returns with $39 unlimited shows
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Confluence 2024.Photo: Courtesy of Charlotte Center City Partners
Charlotte's Confluence music industry conference is returning this week for its third year.
Why it matters: The annual event is growing, drawing more artists and industry professionals from across the country and boosting Charlotte's status as a "music city."
What to expect: The three-day conference, which begins Wednesday, will bring together between 250 and 300 attendees for workshops, panels, live performances and big-name keynote speakers. Highlights include:
- A fireside chat with Panos Panay, president of the Recording Academy (the organization behind the Grammy Awards), on changes in the recorded music industry, including artificial intelligence's influence.
- A conversation with John Huie, co-founder of talent agency Creative Artists Agency Nashville, about breaking artists and projecting careers.
- A showcase where music startups will give fast, five-minute pitches.
- A panel between managers for acts like The Avett Brothers, DJ Khaled and R.E.M.
- Multiple nights of live music across six independent venues, from Snug Harbor to The Evening Muse. A $38.81 music pass gets you access to performances by regional talent, such as Charleston indie band Easy Honey, Charlotte's own Oceanic and the up-and-coming Durham group Sluice.
The big picture: Hosting a regional music conference marks another step toward Charlotte's goal of becoming a music city, says organizer Rick Thurmond of Charlotte Center City Partners.
- In recent years, the city has gained a major music festival (Lovin' Life), landed more superstar tours (Beyonce, Billy Joel), sustained existing venues through the pandemic and added new ones (The Amp Ballantyne).
- Tepper Sports & Entertainment unveiled plans Monday for a 4,400-seat indoor venue near the Panthers' stadium, expected to open in 2030.
- Artists are taking note, too. Thurmond says fewer musicians are leaving for destinations like Nashville or Atlanta, instead choosing to pursue their careers in Charlotte.
What's next: Thurmond envisions Confluence becoming Charlotte's version of South by Southwest, a 10-day festival and conference in Austin, Texas, that attracts hundreds of thousands of attendees.
- If scaled, Confluence could cement "Charlotte as not only a banking and finance center, but a creative capital," Thurmond says.
If you go: Conference tickets are available here, starting at $63.69. A single-day pass is for the conference only, not the music showcases.
- The conference is at The Union at Station West (919 Berryhill Rd.).