38%
of U.S. adults attended a live arts performance
The survey covers live music, theater, dance, festivals and other performances attended in person during the prior 12 months.
Updated July 21, 2026
North Carolina
Live Music &
Nightlife Statistics.
Current figures on live arts attendance, cultural employment and the visitor economy. Every number below links to its original public source.
Browse the Statistics
A reference for the room
Live culture is
an economic force.
Use these figures when writing about live music, arts participation, nightlife, tourism or cultural business in North Carolina. The sources are public, dated and linked directly so each claim can be checked in context.
Key statistics
Numbers worth
keeping close.
21%
of U.S. adults attended an outdoor performing-arts festival
This measures attendance between July 2021 and July 2022 at festivals featuring performing artists.
21%
attended other live music, dance or theater events
The category includes genres such as rock, pop, rap, hip-hop, folk and country. It rose from 15% in 2017.
$1.17T
in U.S. arts and cultural economic activity
Arts and cultural production represented 4.2% of U.S. gross domestic product in 2023.
Source
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account2023 data, released April 20255.4M
U.S. jobs were tied to arts and culture
National arts and cultural employment increased 0.3% in 2023.
Source
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account2023 data, released April 2025167,254
North Carolina jobs were tied to arts and culture
That was 3.3% of all jobs in the state. Arts and cultural employment in North Carolina grew 7.6% in 2023.
Source
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account2023 data, released April 2025$37.2B
in North Carolina visitor spending
Domestic and international visitors spent this amount in 2025, up 1.3% from 2024.
230,997
direct tourism jobs in North Carolina
Direct tourism payroll reached $9.8 billion in 2025.
Method & sources
How to use
these figures.
This page brings together the latest relevant public releases from the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and Visit North Carolina. Each statistic keeps the date used by its source. The figures describe different parts of the live-culture economy, so they should not be added together or treated as one market total.
Last reviewed: July 21, 2026. We will refresh this page when a primary source publishes materially new data.
Cite this page
Badu Lounge. “North Carolina Live Music & Nightlife Statistics (2026).” Accessed July 21, 2026.
https://baduloungenc.com/live-music-nightlife-statisticsSee it in person
Find your
next night out.
Badu Lounge brings music, spoken word, comedy, karaoke and cultural gatherings to Ayden.