If you haven’t felt the buzz yet, preparations are underway in Raleigh for one of the biggest music festivals of the year.
J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival kicks off at Dorothea Dix Park on Saturday with headliners like Usher, Sean Paul, Lil Durk, Ari Lennox and City Girls. The festival will continue on Sunday with performances by Cole, the Fayetteville rapper who created the festival, along with Drake and Burna Boy.
Cole started the festival in 2019 to give back to his home state and create a hip-hop and R&B festival for the East Coast, said Dreamville creative director Adam Rodney. It’s also a way to showcase the artists on Cole’s Dreamville music label.
“It’s exciting to be back here,” Rodney said. “To see it (grow) year over year and then over the hurdles we dealt with with COVID, hurricanes and everything — to still see this festival come back stronger and stronger every year is pretty awesome to see.”
The sold-out festival is predicted to bring about 100,000 people to Raleigh and to generate more than $7.8 million in economic impact to Raleigh and Wake County. Last year, the festival saw 80,000 people from all over the state, country and internationally, said Loren Gold, the vice president of Visit Raleigh.
Gold said Wake County was at about 92% occupancy for hotels last year. The demand this year is around 27,000 room reservations over the weekend.
Friday night, Dreamville Festival organizers announced that severe weather forecasts are prompting the festival to open at 2 p.m. on Saturday instead of at 12 noon.
Organizers said additional updates would follow at 10 a.m. on Saturday. They have not said how the delay will affect the acts expected to take the stage at 1 p.m.
Organizers with Dreamville Fest and the City of Raleigh are predicting major traffic delays in and around the park along Western Avenue.
If you’re going to the festival or want to know how it will affect Raleigh this weekend, here’s what to know about schedule, traffic, how to get there, security and more.
▪ Where and when: Dreamville Festival is in its third year at Raleigh’s Dorothea Dix Park. It will be held Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 2.
Friday night, Dreamville Festival organizers announced that severe weather forecasts are prompting the festival to open at 2 p.m. on Saturday instead of at 12 noon.
Organizers said additional updates would follow at 10 a.m. on Saturday. They have not said how the delay will affect the acts expected to take the stage at 1 p.m.
Gates are expected to open Sunday at 12 noon.
▪ Where is Dreamville Festival: Dorothea Dix Park is located at 1030 Richardson Drive in Raleigh, near NC State’s campus. The festival’s West Entrance is at the intersection of Barbour and Blair drives. The East Entrance is near the intersection of Umstead and Hunt drives.
▪ Tickets: Most tickets are sold out, but the Dreamville website shows select tickets available starting at $549.99 as well as a waiting list for general admission tickets.
A portion of proceeds go to the Dreamville Foundation and the Dorothea Dix Park Conservancy.
Flowers adorn the hair of a fan at the Dreamville Music Festival at Dix Park in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, April 2, 2022. Scott Sharpe ssharpe@newsobserver.com
Dreamville lineup and schedule
The lineup features all of the artists on Cole’s label: Ari Lennox, J.I.D, EARTHGANG, Bas, Cozz, Omen and Lute.
Here is who is scheduled to perform over two stages.
SATURDAY, April 1
The schedule has been updated after weather delays pushed the start time to 3 p.m. Key Glock’s flight was canceled due to weather and Victony was unable to attend due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
3:30 p.m. Marques Clae (Shine stage)
4 p.m. Omen (Shine stage)
4:20 p.m. Lute (Rise stage)
4:40 p.m. SiR (Shine stage)
5:20 p.m. Jesse Reyez (Rise stage)
5:50 p.m. Toosii (Shine stage)
6:25 p.m. Earthgang (Rise stage)
6:55 p.m. Sean Paul (Shine stage)
7:40 p.m. City Girls (Rise stage)
8:10 p.m. Ari Lennox (Shine stage)
9 p.m. Lil Durk (Rise stage)
9:50 p.m. Usher (Shine stage)
SUNDAY, April 2
SHINE STAGE
1 p.m. Reuben Vincent
1:40 p.m. Cozz
2:30 p.m. Ayra Starr
3:40 p.m. Waka Flocka Flame
5 p.m. GloRilla
6:45 p.m. Summer Walker
9:15 p.m. J. Cole + Drake
RISE STAGE
1:20 p.m. Jordan Ward
2:05 p.m. Baby Tate
3 p.m. Mario
4:20 p.m. Bas
5:45 p.m. J.I.D.
7:45 p.m. Burna Boy
Dreamville Festival weather
Saturday: The chance of rain has increased to 70%. The forecast calls for showers in the morning with thunderstorms possible developing in the afternoon. Be on the lookout for wind. The skies should clear by evening, just in time for Usher to hit the stage. The temperature will be a high of 78 degrees with a low of 45 degrees.
Sunday: The weather will clear up Sunday but it will be a little cooler with a high of 65 degrees and a low of 45. Look for sunny skies and a bit of a breeze.
The traffic map with routes to get to Dorothea Dix Park is available online at support.dreamvillefest.com. The map shows parking lots, ADA lots and how to get to the park by foot, bike, car, ride share or train. Dreamville Festival
What’s new at Dreamville Festival in 2023?
▪ Security: There will be greater police presence at the park this year, among other changes to security, including more screening booths at the two entrances.
Raleigh Police Department Lt. James Stokes said the “robust” security plan will include officers from other law enforcement agencies around Wake County.
Additionally, there are expansions to the box offices at the entrance of the festival, said Trey Hicks, Dreamville Festival PR director. There will be expanded capabilities at both entrances to get people in and out of the park, including more check points and screening tables.
▪ Bathrooms: This year, Dreamville has plans for improved bathrooms, instead of the typical portable potties stationed at the park, Hicks said.
▪ Wifi: Dreamville is working with AT&T and Verizon this year to improve cellular reception at the park. Towers are usually set up around the park to improve the reception.
J. Cole performs at the Dreamville Music Festival at Raleigh, N.C.’s Dix Park Saturday, April 6, 2019. Scott Sharpe ssharpe@newsobserver.com
Expect traffic delays
Traffic around the festival grounds is expected to be heavy, Stokes said.
“As you could expect with 50,000 people coming to an event, you’re going to have traffic backups in the roads that are around the park as well as the interstate,” Stokes said.
Event parking is available for purchase at NC State’s Centennial Campus across the street from Dorothea Dix Park. (Set your GPS to 883-881 Main Campus Drive). Parking is $50, plus fees.
The spaces are limited and are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Dreamville organizers say the lot fills up quickly, and overnight parking is not allowed. Parking is only available for one day at a time.
People can ride their bikes to Dix Park and lock up their bikes at a lot outside of the park’s limits. It is a short walk to the festival from there. The bike lots are at:
On the corner of Centennial Parkway and Blair Drive
On the corner of Western Boulevard and Hunt Drive
The official Dreamville Fest shuttle begins at Moore Square in downtown Raleigh along E. Martin Street. There is a public parking deck at 429 S. Wilmington Street. This map shows where the shuttle will take festival-goers and other parking options near the pick-up point. Dreamville Festival
Shuttles, ride shares and scooters
▪ Shuttle: The festival offers an official downtown shuttle from Moore Square, 209 E. Martin St., in Downtown Raleigh to the park. This year, organizers will double the number of shuttle buses to allow for more pick-ups and drop-offs from downtown to the park between Western Boulevard and Centennial Parkway.
A shuttle pass is $20, plus fees. Festival-goers will be able to use their downtown shuttle pass for the entire weekend to and from the park.
Shuttles start at 10 a.m. (two hours before gates open) until 1 a.m. (two hours after the festival). The shuttle drops off people at the West Entrance of the festival.
▪ Ride share: Uber and Lyft and other ride sharing will be operating in collaboration with Dreamville to drop riders off in designated zones on both sides of Dix Park with a short walking distance to the entrance.
▪ Electric scooters: Operators LIME and SPIN will have scooters available in the Raleigh area during the weekend. Information about where to find the e-scooters can be found at the City of Raleigh website. The operate seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival, pictured in 2022, will feature the Fayetteville rapper, Drake, Usher and other artists from the Dreamville music label. It will be held April 1-2, 2023 at Dix Park in Raleigh, NC. Greg Noire Dreamville Festival
What’s allowed at Dreamville Festival
From bags and strollers to prescribed medicine, there is a list of items that are allowed and prohibited on the grounds of Dix Park for Dreamville. All bags will be searched before entry.
For all medicine, the pharmacy label must be present on the container that states the dosage, patient name and prescription. Medicine needing to be inhaled or samples are prohibited unless in a prescribed inhaler. Over-the-counter medicines are allowed but will need to be verified.
small clutch purses and fanny packs — 6” x 9” or smaller
baby strollers
cameras and accessories — selfie sticks, tripods, GoPro mounts and monopods are not allowed
ear plugs
e-cigarettes and vape pens
hats, scarves, gloves and bandannas, sunglasses
service animals
blankets and towels
Items that are prohibited include:
aerosol containers
coolers
chairs
video equipment
drones
umbrellas
skateboards
lasers
Bag policy, lockers and phone charging
All bags will be searched before entering.
The festival will allow for:
Small clutch purses and fanny packs that are 6” x 9”. They don’t need to be clear but they should only have one pocket.
Bags must be clear if they are larger than 6” x 9” with a maximum size of 12” x 6” x 12”.
Hydration packs are allowed and must be emptied of all liquid. They do not need to be clear. There will be water refilling stations on site.
There will be lockers available for rent, starting at $49.99. They include 3-in-1 USB charging cables.
Dreamville vendors & activities
Dreamville organizers have been planning programs outside of Dix Park, including after parties, the return of the Ferris wheel, photo displays, and anindustry panelof producers and artists on Friday at CAM Raleigh. The panels include local producer 9th Wonder, Timbaland and Ari Lennox.
There is also continued emphasis on local vendors from the Triangle area. There will be over 50 local food vendors at the festival.
“With respect to local vendors, ambassador programs and staff we bring on, the impact we bring locally is really important to us, so we really try to source as much as we can from the Raleigh and Wake County community,” Hicks said.
Dreamville Festival beer
Raleigh brewery R&D Brewing is launching a limited edition Dreamsicle Festival brew, a special beer just for the event. R&D describes it as “a light, crisp and flavorful cream ale with a hint of vanilla and mango flavors.” It has a 4.5% ABV.
It can be found at the festival.
“We wanted to create a beer that embodies the spirit of the festival and the vibrancy of the city, and we believe Dreamsicle Festival Brew does just that,” said Mark Theisen, director of brewing operations at R&D Brewing, in a statement.
Dreamville Crocs
Dreamville has collaborated with Crocs, the comfy footwear, for a special Dreamville-themed clog. The Dreamville x Crocs Varsity Clog features a varsity letter jacket and has six custom charms with pennants celebrating the hometowns of each of the artists on the Dreamville Records label.
For those keeping track, that’s “North Carolina (J. Cole, Lute), Washington, D.C. (Ari Lennox), Atlanta (J.I.D, EARTHGANG), New York (Bas), Los Angeles (Cozz) and Chicago (Omen),” according to a news release.
They can be bought at the Dreamville shop, Crocs.com or Amazon for $69.99. A pack of the charms can be bought separately for $49.99.
Limited quantities of a Dreamville “varsity-inspired” clothing collection will be available at a downtown pop-up shop Wednesday, March 29 to Friday, March 31, from noon to 8 p.m. The shop is at 207 S. West St., Raleigh.
The Dreamville x Crocs Varsity Clog features a varsity letter jacket and has six custom charms with pennants celebrating the hometowns of each of the artists on the Dreamville Records label. Crocs
The livestream will be active during the festival beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Fans can tune in to the Amazon Music channel on Twitchand Prime Video. It is presented by Rotation, a global hip-hop and R&B brand from Amazon Music.
Park closures
Unless you have a ticket to the festival this weekend, Dix Park will be closed to the public.
Throughout the week, the park will operate as usual. But as preparations continue, some park-goers can see some traffic delays or closures at the park, according to spokesperson Joey Vasco.
Emergency alerts
To receive alerts from the festival, text ‘Dreamville’ to 888777.
Where can I learn more?
The full list of allowed and prohibited items and all other information about Dreamville Fest can be found on their website’s FAQ page at support.dreamvillefest.com.
This story will be updated with more information throughout the week. Check back here for updates.
This story was originally published March 28, 2023 at 8:00 AM.
Kristen Johnson is a local government reporter covering Durham for The News & Observer. She previously covered Cary and western Wake County. Prior to coming home to the Triangle, she reported for The Fayetteville Observer and spent time covering politics and culture in Washington, D.C. She is an alumna of UNC at Charlotte and American University.
