Music Industry Conference Expands into a Full Outdoor Festival

Charlotte’s Confluence music industry conference is expanding its 2026 edition with the launch of Confluence Music Fest, adding more than 45 live performances by emerging and independent artists to its established programme of panels, workshops and networking. Organisers expect attendance to rise from around 1,200 last year to 3,000–4,000 people. The move is a strong example of a broader event-format trend: professional conferences evolving into hybrid conference-and-festival experiences to broaden audiences and create additional engagement opportunities.