Dreamville brought 40,000 to Raleigh in 2019. Here’s what to expect this year over 2 days

After nearly three years, J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival is back — and he’s bringing some of the nation’s biggest artists to Raleigh.

Cole, a Grammy Award-winning rapper with roots in Fayetteville, started the festival in part to give back to the region he considers home.

It was first held at Raleigh’s Dorothea Dix Park on April 6, 2019. Now, after a hiatus that saw live music events cancelled or postponed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Dreamville is back and even bigger than before.

Dreamville has expanded to a two-day event, turning Raleigh’s biggest park into its own festival-city on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3.

“We’re just so excited, from a local business perspective and an economic perspective, that we’re going to have visitors coming in from all over the United States and from different countries,” said Joseph Voska, program supervisor for Dix Park. “It’s one of those things that gets to put not only the city of Raleigh, but Dix Park, on the map.”

In 2019, Dreamville attracted 40,000 attendees to North Carolina, with 80% hailing from outside of Wake County, according to data from the City of Raleigh. The event saw attendees travel from all 50 states and 12 international countries, bringing in nearly 22,000 overnight visitors and nearly $3.8 million in visitor spending.

Attendees at this year’s festival can expect to see artists like Khelani, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Ja Rule, Ashanti and of course, Cole himself, whose performance will close out the final day of Dreamville.

Organizers have not said how many tickets have been sold, but added they expected roughly 40,000 attendees to show up each day.

The performances will be spread out across three stages on Dix Park’s Big Field, a 35-acre space that city officials say can host tens of thousands of people.

Nearby residents should be wary of potential traffic delays and noise around festival hours, but city officials say they’ve worked to mitigate these impacts.

Here’s a look at the Dreamville schedule and everything else you need to know about this year’s festival.

The basics

Gates open at Dorothea Dix Park April 2 and 3 at 12 noon. Details can be found at dreamvillefest.com.

The lineup

Artists are staggered with some slight overlap, so expect to walk back and forth across the field to catch as many of the performances as you can.

Rise Stage

Saturday:

• 1:40-2 p.m. Mereba
• 2:30-3 p.m. Fivio Foreign
• 3:40-4:10 p.m. Blxst
• 5:10-5:45 p.m. Ja Rule and Ashanti
• 6:55-7:40 p.m. Kehlani
• 8:40-9:25 p.m. Wizkid

Sunday:

• 1:40-2 p.m. Omen
• 2:30-3 p.m. Larry June
• 3:40-4:10 p.m. BIA
• 5-5:30 p.m. Wale
• 6:30-7:15 p.m. Wiz Khalifa
• 8:25-9:25 p.m. DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz: Lil Wayne, Jeezy and T.I.

Shine Stage

Saturday:

• 1:20-1:35 p.m. Mikhala Jené
• 2:05-2:25 p.m. Lute
• 3:05-3:35 p.m. Morray
• 4:25-4:55 EarthGang
• 6-6:40 p.m. J.I.D.
• 7:55-8:25 p.m. Moneybagg Yo
• 9:40-10:45 p.m. Lil Baby

Sunday:

• 1:20-1:35 p.m. Kyle Banks
• 2:05-2:25 p.m. Cozz
• 3:05-3:35 p.m. Rico Nasty
• 4:20-4:50 Bas
• 5:45-6:15 p.m. T-Pain
• 7:30-8:10 p.m. Ari Lennox
• 9:40-10:45 p.m. J. Cole

DJ Stage

Saturday:

• 12:30-1 p.m. Milhouse
• 1:15-1:45 p.m. See Bird Go
• 2-2:30 p.m. Nitrane
• 3-3:30 p.m. Falcons
• 4:15-5 p.m. Getlive
• 5:45-6:30 p.m. Kitty Cash
• 7:45-8:30 p.m. Donavan’s Sound Club
• 9:30-10:30 p.m. DJ Moma & Road Poadcast

Sunday:

• 12:30-1 p.m. Milhouse
• 1:15-1:45 p.m. Dark Knight
• 2-2:30 p.m. Fannie Mae
• 3-3:30 p.m. Dana Lu
• 4:15-5 p.m. DJ Puffy
• 5:45-6:30 p.m. Andrew Power
• 7:30-8:30 p.m. Grits & Biscuits
• 9:30-10:30 p.m. DJ Moma & Road Poadcast

How to get tickets

General Admission and General Admission+ tickets remain available online at https://bit.ly/3NA4k6i. Those tickets cost $249.99 plus fees and $349.99 plus fees, respectively.

All tiers of VIP tickets, with costs ranging from around $600 to nearly $1,300, were sold out as of Wednesday.

How to get to Dreamville and traffic alerts

There will be two entrances to the festival at Dix Park, according to event organizers. The West Entrance is off Barbour and Blair drives, while the East Entrance is off Umstead and Hunt drives.

Both entrances will open at 12 p.m. on the days of the festival.

Raleigh officials have advised residents and attendees to be wary of traffic this weekend, as thousands flock to the park.

“The biggest impact that you will see is going to be the traffic,” said Capt. Dedric Bond of the Raleigh Police Department.

“We’re going to try to minimize the traffic impact and try to lessen the amount that the surrounding community is impacted,” he added. “But 40,000 people, there’s no way that we’re going to totally eliminate traffic impact.”

Officers will manually work some traffic intersections during the days of the festival in order to make “adjustments in real-time,” Bond said.

People traveling in the area should expect delays and allow extra time, he added.

Parking, shuttles and ride sharing

Here’s a breakdown on how you can get to Dreamville:

▪ By car: There will be no on-site parking at Dix Park for the event, so those traveling by car should not enter the park. Instead, attendees can park at NC State University’s Centennial Campus, right across the street from Dix Park. But event organizers warned these limited spaces could fill up quickly.

Parking passes are available on the Dreamville website for $30 plus fees per day. Event organizers advise using Gorman Street, to Avent Ferry Road, to Varsity Drive to reach the event parking area.

Bond said those dropping off friends or family can do so at Dix Park via South Boylan Avenue, but said all other drivers heading to the festival should not use Western Boulevard.

▪ By shuttle: A downtown shuttle service will run from Moore Square to Dix Park over the course of the weekend. The shuttles will pick up attendees on East Martin Street and drop them off at the festival’s West Entrance, closer than the designated parking area at NC State.

Shuttle passes cost $20, but are good for the entire weekend. Event organizers said the shuttle will run from 10:30 a.m. until 1 a.m. each day of the festival, taking attendees to and from Dreamville.

Those driving to Dreamville can also take advantage of the service, parking in downtown Raleigh before hopping on a shuttle bus.

▪ By ride-sharing app and taxi: Dreamville has designated pick-up zones on Centennial Parkway, which will allow those traveling by Uber, Lyft or taxi to access the park.

▪ By bike/foot: Attendees can walk or bike to Dix Park, which is about a mile from downtown Raleigh. Those traveling by bike will need to lock it up at one of two designated bike parking areas, on the corner of either Centennial Parkway and Blair Drive or Western Boulevard and Hunt Drive.

Weather forecast

The Triangle, including Raleigh, is at a slight risk of severe thunderstorms on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Raleigh. But that forecast does not currently extend into the weekend.

Saturday and Sunday are expected to be sunny, with highs of 66 on Saturday and 70 degrees on Sunday, according to the NWS.

How to watch Dreamville online

Dreamville has partnered with Amazon Music’s Rotation to livestream the festival, with options to watch on Prime Video or Twitch.

Those interested in watching performances online can tune in 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at https://amzn.to/3LiDWM8, organizers said. It also will be streamed on the Amazon Music app and Amazon Prime Video.

What food is available

Food vendors stationed around the festival will offer an impressive array of cuisines. Attendees can find over 40 different options at Dreamville.

Food trucks and vendors:

• Boss of Vegan
• Buje Lemonade
• Bulldog Burgery
• Caribbean Kicker
• Chick-N-Que
• Chirba Chirba Dumpling
• CocoCrissi Tropical Icees
• Corndog Inc
• Dank Nugs
• Dre’s Water Ice and Ice Cream
• Fatboys Kitchen
• Goodness GraceUs
• Gussy’s Greek Street Food
• Hebros Kitchen
• Hot Box
• Jollys Catering and Events
• Lee’s Kitchen
• Mama churros
• Mazz ‘a’ Mia’s
• NC Bulkogi
• Oak City Fish and Chips
• Paddy Wagon
• Party in a Pita
• Pizza Nova
• Pure Soul
• Qspresso
• Quesadilla Gourmet
• R&B Grill and Concessions
• Red Tacos El Patron 323
• Roho
• Romega Inc.
• Sandias Concessions
• Seabreeze Italian Ice
• Shady Grove Wraps
• Tania’s Kitchen NYC
• The Shrimp Truck
• The Smoke N Jerk
• The Vegan Sweetie
• Tica’s Burger Joint
• Tica’s Tacos
• Ultimate Cheese Grill
• Virginia Vendor Food Services Inc
• Vybez Kitchen

How to get Dreamville alerts and contact festival organizers

▪ Dreamville will use a public notification system during the festival, with public safety, traffic and other alerts sent to anyone who signs up. Text “Dreamville” to 888777.

▪ A Dreamville app, available for free on the Google Play and Apple stores, will also provide festival updates and notifications to those who download it.

▪ A community hotline will provide nearby residents with a direct line to report any non-emergency issues or complaints. Residents can reach the hotline at 919-295-6275, but it will only be monitored on April 2 and 3 between 10 a.m. and 12 a.m., Dreamville officials said.

This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 12:45 PM.