J. Cole’s 2020 Dreamville Festival will be postponed in NC because of coronavirus
J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival will be postponed until August amid fears of the coronavirus, joining other major events in the nation that have been called off.
The daylong festival, which drew 40,000 people last year, was expected to take over Dix Park April 4. But as the coronavirus has affected other entertainment events around the country, organizers announced Friday that it would be postponed.
The new date is Aug. 29.
“While this decision has been extremely difficult to make, the safety of our fans, artists, and staff is always our top priority, and nothing will ever take precedence over your well-being,” Dreamville said in its statement. “We now encourage everyone to follow the guidelines and various preventive measures put forth by local and national health authorities.”
Any Dreamville Festival ticketholders unable to attend the rescheduled date can request a refund on the festival’s website at dreamvillefest.com.
With the Dreamville Festival less than a month away, organizers said the lineup would have been announced this week. With the postponement, organizers said they are now working out any scheduling conflicts with artists.
The new Dreamville Festival lineup could be announced as early as next week, they said.
No gatherings larger than 100 people
On Thursday, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper advised against gatherings of more than 100 people, The News & Observer reported. That includes conferences, sporting events, concerts and worship services, he said.
The NCAA and the ACC have canceled basketball tournaments. Raleigh’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham are among the annual events that won’t take place this year.
Also Friday, Winter Jam, a popular Christian concert with $15 admission, canceled its annual showcase at PNC Arena for March 22.
North Carolina’s Merlefest, the long-running Americana festival that would have been April 23-26 in Wilkesboro, also has been canceled. Ticket-holders have the option of refunds, rolling over their ticket purchase to 2021 or considering their purchase a donation to the WCC Foundation, which plans and manages the festival each year.
Like those events, Cole’s Dreamville Festival was supposed to be an annual affair.
In its first year, the festival was spread out across the 308-acre park south of downtown with at least 70% of visitors from out of town. It was a showcase for artists on Cole’s Dreamvillle label, but also included nationally known talent like SZA, Big Sean, 21 Savage, 6LACK, Nelly and the Triangle’s Grammy-nominated Rapsody.
It also was a way for the Grammy-winning Cole to give back to his home state. He was raised in Fayetteville and has made Raleigh his home. A portion of the event’s proceeds were to go to Cole’s Dreamville Foundation and the Dorothea Dix Park Conservancy.
This is the second time Dreamville organizers and the city have had to switch gears. The inaugural Dreamville event was expected to take place in September 2018 but had to be postponed because of Hurricane Florence. It took place instead in April 2019, and April seemed like its new home.
Other music festivals canceled
The cancellation comes as other large-scale entertainment events and music festivals assess whether they should be held in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak.
South by Southwest in Austin — a high-profile film, music and technology event — was canceled for the first time in the festival’s 34 years.
The Ultra Music Festival, a three-day electronic dance music festival in Miami set for March 20-22, is canceled.
The annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, set for two weekends in April in Indio, Calif., has been moved to October.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 12:43 PM.