Event expanded to two days and hosted 80,000 total attendees

North Carolina-raised, Grammy Award-winning, and multi-platinum hip-hop artist J. Cole and his Dreamville team are working on next year’s edition after successfully kicking off their second Dreamville Festival this past weekend in Raleigh. They welcomed 80,000 total attendees from across the globe which created a multi-million dollar economic impact for the state of North Carolina.

After a three-year hiatus, Dreamville successfully revitalized the brand’s flagship music festival property Dreamville Festival to become the largest music festival in the state of North Carolina, while expanding to two days at the historic Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh. With a continued emphasis on community, diversity and inclusivity, this year’s festival brought together local residents and travelers alike to gather together and enjoy incredible music performances while exploring the historic Dorothea Dix Park.

More than 60% of fans were returning festival-goers from the first year. Attendees this year also traveled from all 50 states as well as Washington DC, in addition to 14 international countries – all of which continues to prove the strength of the Dreamville brand globally.

While at the fest, Dreamville fans of all ages were treated to performances from some of today’s most sought-after music acts, blending together stadium headliners alongside exciting up-and-comers. The lineup and festival experience were once again curated by the festival founder himself, J. Cole, whose headlining performance closed out the festival while offering a truly unforgettable experience for fans who long-awaited the return of the fest.

“Our Dreamville team is not only grateful for our incredible fans across the world who traveled to attend or livestreamed online, but also to the greater Raleigh community for welcoming our festival back with open arms. After being forced to sit out the last three years and now seeing all of the overwhelmingly positive feedback from this past weekend, we couldn’t be more excited about the future of the fest. See you next spring for year three,” shares Dreamville Partner and Festival President Adam Roy.

The expanded two-day event marked a rare reunion for Dreamville Records as Cole brought together the entire music roster to perform at the fest including Ari Lennox, Bas, JID, EarthGang, Cozz, and Omen, plus Lute who hails from nearby Charlotte – nearly all of whom joined Cole onstage for Sunday’s grand finale.

Additional performers included WizKid, Lil Baby, Kehlani, Rico Nasty, Bia, Wale, T-Pain, and Larry June, among others; plus an on-stage reunion from Ja Rule and Ashanti; and the first-ever performance of DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz that featured back-to-back sets from Southern rap icons Lil Wayne, Jeezy and TI.

The festival continued to offer an opportunity for J. Cole to give back to his home state, which has helped shape the successful and creative artist he has become today, while also providing a cultural and economic impact that lasts long after the festival wraps each spring. Attendees were offered a variety of family-friendly activities and local vendors – nearly all of which are based in Raleigh or the greater Triangle area, and included more than double the total number of vendors from 2019.

Other notable experiential offerings for guests included site-wide art installations curated by local arts nonprofit Artsplosure; a large Nonprofit and Community Organization Row dedicated to bringing awareness to several local charity programs; and the debut of a sky-high Ferris wheel offering unparalleled views of Dix Park and the City of Raleigh. Plus, each afternoon featured surprise impromptu performances from North Carolina Central University’s “Sound Machine” Marching Band and The Helping Hand Rescue Mission Marching Band.

A portion of proceeds from the 2022 event are being donated to the official Dreamville Festival charity partners, the Dreamville Foundation and Dorothea Dix Park Conservancy.

The festival team would also like to thank and show appreciation to all of the 2022 partners and sponsors who helped make this year’s event possible, including Rotation on Amazon and Amazon Music, who exclusively livestreamed the two-week event to fans globally; as well as Bacardí, Bud Light Seltzer Hard Soda, Dix Park Conservancy, Don Julio, Liquid Death Mountain Water, Mamitas, Monster Energy, NBA 2K, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Tanqueray, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Wilson Sporting Goods, Vista Print, and Visit Raleigh.

2023 dates and details are forthcoming.