What’s the latest with Raleigh’s post-Dreamville music festival? What we learned
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Raleigh announced new music festival last year after Dreamville ended.
- Dreamville called 2025 its ‘fifth and final’ show; no details on new festival.
- Organizers haven’t provided a firm date; 2026 lineup not confirmed.
In 2025, Raleigh leaders touted a four-year deal for a new music festival at the city’s largest park as Dreamville wrapped its fifth and final year.
Now, about a month out from when fans would normally flock to Dix Park for the annual Dreamville Music Festival, the city says they are “discussing other possible dates” for its new music festival but doesn’t have more details to share.
“What I can tell you right now is that the traditional date for Dreamville is the first weekend of April, and Easter falls on that weekend this year,” said Julia Milstead, public information officer for Raleigh. “We are discussing other possible dates with the organizers, but don’t have a firm date at this point.”
Representatives from Scoremore Shows and Dreamville Music Festival have not responded to questions from The News & Observer.
The dates of the next Dreamville show are normally announced shortly after the end of the previous year’s shows with tickets going on sale in the fall the year before. Dreamville announced its line-up, featuring J. Cole, Lil Wayne and 21 Savage, in mid-March last year.
Dreamville’s last show
On social media, the Dreamville team announced that the 2025 show would be the “fifth and final,” , The N&O previously reported. City leaders announced a new music festival, under the Dreamville label, at a press conference on the eve of the 2025 show.
“We’re going to be here for years to come,” said Sascha Stone Guttfreund, the festival producer with Dreamville and Live Nation, during the press conference. “This is a multi-year deal, and we’re so excited to be working with the city of Raleigh together on something new and exciting, and to continue to build on this incredible thing that we’ve done over the years.”
At the time, City Manager Marchell Adams-David said “we’re going to continue on the same path that’s been successful for us” with regard to genre and other possible details, The N&O previously reported.
The contract between Scoremore, the concert production company, and the city gives the option of “one or more live-music festival events” on consecutive weekends during April from 2026 to 2029, according to the contract obtained by a News & Observer public records request. The contract also allows for a concert to be held regardless of whether a concert was held the year before or if one is planned for the next year.
J. Cole, the North Carolina native, rapper and producer, founded the Dreamville label and headlined the Dreamville festival all five years. He released his 7th studio album in February and announced a summer tour with two North Carolina stops in Charlotte and Fayetteville, The Charlotte Observer reported.
“We’re using the Dreamville label to a certain extent, (so Cole) will obviously be involved,” said Adams-David during the 2025 press conference. “Whether or not he headlines. That’s probably not going to be an occurrence, but he is a local resident. He is totally committed to this community, and he is totally committed to this festival.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2026 at 12:26 PM.
