Dreamville Festival announces lineup for its third return to Raleigh, NC

Dreamville Music Festival is back for its third year. The festival just announced this year’s lineup, and it’s big. The festival hits Raleigh, North Carolina on April 1-2. The festival will be at Camp Dorthea Dix, less than five minutes from North Carolina State University. The 308-acre park will indeed be filled to the brim with music fans.

The festival is the brainchild of rapper and Dreamville Records founder J. Cole. As a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Dreamville Festival was a way of giving something back to his home state.

Since its beginning, Dreamville has emphasized community, diversity, and inclusivity throughout the fan experience each spring. The merge of fun, music, and friends creates a family-cookout-style vibe unmatched by any other music festival. Outside of the music, Dreamviille also creates a space for artists, food trucks, and clothing brands to get business and exposure.

The inaugural festival in 2019 was a one-day event featuring R&B and hip-hop artists, including SZA, Big Sean and 21 Savage. Fans were also surprised by a guest appearance from rapper Meek Mill.

The 2020 and 2021 shows were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but returned in 2022 where attendance topped over 80,000. Last year’s festival featured a star-packed lineup including, Lil Baby, Wale, Rico Nasty, Kehlani, Moneybagg Yo, Ja Rule, Ashanti, and DJ Drama, who brought out legendary collaborators T.I. Lil Wayne and Jeezy.

J.Cole announced the festival’s return to Raleigh last year, but kept the lineup underwraps. The rapper dropped the list of performers this morning letting fans know some of the biggest names in music are on their way to North Carolina. Usher, Drake and Burna Boy will headline the stages along with J. Cole. Ari Lennox, City Girls, Key Glock and GloRilla are also set perform.

Ticket and event information are available at www.DreamvilleFest.com

Martie Bowser is a journalist and public relations professional in Charlotte, NC. She enjoys amplifying the voices of POC and women that fill a void within their community. Her bylines include “person of interest” interviews, small business highlights, pop culture commentary, entertainment features, and everything Beyonce.

This story was originally published February 28, 2023 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Dreamville Festival announces lineup for its third return to Raleigh, NC."