Audience Perception of Quality in Live Music Performances at Major Nigerian Festivals: A Comparative Study

This study comparatively investigates audience perceptions of quality in live music performances at three major Nigerian music festivals representing different geopolitical zones: the Lagos Jazz Series in South West, the Abuja Carnival in North Central, and the Calabar Carnival in South South Nigeria. Live music performance quality is a multidimensional construct encompassing technical musicianship, stage presence, sound engineering, audience engagement, repertoire selection, and production design. This research develops and validates a contextually appropriate Live Music Performance Quality Scale through a two-phase mixed-methods design. Phase one employs focus group discussions with 30 regular festival attendees to generate quality dimension constructs. Phase two administers the validated scale to 450 festival attendees across the three events during the 2024 to 2025 festival season. Structural equation modelling is applied to identify the quality dimensions most predictive of overall audience satisfaction and intention to attend future events. The study situates its findings within live music experience research, consumer satisfaction theory, and recent African entertainment studies. Findings will produce a validated quality measurement instrument for Nigerian live music events and provide actionable intelligence for festival organisers, performers, and production companies seeking to enhance audience experience across different regional and cultural contexts. Keywords: Live music quality, audience perception, Nigerian festivals, comparative study, performance evaluation.