Dreamville 2024 Best & Worst

Our hot takes and tips from Dreamville Festival 2024

Clearly, J. Cole has proven Raleigh is not, in fact, a *sleepy* city. Each year, his Dreamville Festival just gets dreamier and dreamier. 

And it is certainly a dream come true for our city to host such an incredible and far-reaching event—read: one that garnered a $145.9 million economic impact last year alone—and saw upward of 52K people per day this year as music lovers from all over the globe flocked to Dix Park for the fest, now in its fourth year. 

“It feels like homecoming,” said performer Teezo Touchdown in a sit-down chat with Raleigh Magazine at the backstage Artists’ Lounge. “I see why people come to festivals—it is a different type of energy. So if you’ve never been to a festival before, please go to one. It’s a really fun experience.”

But despite all the hoopla—and easily being one of the world’s most alluring fests—Dreamville is still in its relative infancy. And with that comes kinks. While this year delivered some standout artists (see SZA, Nicki Minaj, 50 Cent, Rae Sremmurd, ScHoolboy Q and many more), there were some, ahem, not-so-dreamy moments. Having attended every Dreamville since its inception, here are our hot takes.

BEST

Music Mix

This year’s fest delivered the perfect balance of both big names and up-and-comers, shining a light on lesser-known musicians like Teezo Touchdown, Chase Shakur and TiaCorine, who are surely going to pop off in the ~dreamy~ aftermath. 

Teezo really made an impression with his microphone-laden bouquet, an ode to Morrissey and The Smiths (who he was intro’d to by Lil Yachty—also a Saturday performer). “It’s really cool that everytime I grab flowers when I’m performing, in the back of my mind I’m thinking about Lil Yachty and The Smiths,” he said. (Cue the aws.)

To wit, a handful of throwback artists provided a jolt of welcoming nostalgia, adding to its crossgenerational all-are-welcome vibe. (Hey, Monica and 50 Cent!) “You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub…” 

Of course, it wouldn’t be a successful Dreamville Fest without J. Cole’s surprise guests. This year, he brought out Central Cee, 6lack, Lil Durk, Benny the Butcher and others to dazzle the Dreamers. And they did not disappoint! 

No Line, No Problem

While in years past we spent the bulk of our time in the VIP area, this year we decided to lean into the main experience on Day One, and mostly gallivanted around the general admission grounds—save for a foray backstage. 

And color us impressed at the ease of getting a drink from the many bars, which typically had almost zero line for spirits averaging around $15/drink. … The same, though, cannot be said for food (see below)—though the amount of local food trucks/vendors was pretty noteworthy. We saw the likes of Cousins Maine Lobster, Buoy Bowls, Oak City Fish and Chips, Chirba Chirba Dumpling, and more. Talk about variety!

WORST

Gone Hungry

Whether on GA grounds or in VIP—you might find yourself hangry. On the main grounds Saturday, vendor lines were so long, in fact, we ultimately decided to wait until we left the fest to eat (!). And those fest food prices… ouch (we’re talking $13 for three chicken tenders—um, no).

Sunday we returned to the Fam section and VIP area near the Rise stage. You’d think VIP = easily fed, but, alas, there were no vendors or trucks in the Rise VIP, which was definitely a miss in our books. All in all, the Rise stage VIP area was a little lackluster compared to the one near the Shine stage, which was way bigger, with more bars, vendors and attractions. 

Mic Drop

Sound issues abounded at this year’s fest, leaving both festivalgoers and performers frustrated—so much so Rema even closed out his set early and walked off stage enraged. 

Beyond the literal mic drop moment, many of the surprise guests’ mics during J. Cole’s performance Sunday night weren’t working—a real bummer especially for those artists who didn’t get their own individual set during the weekend. Some fans were also disappointed about the overall sound quality. Perhaps a better sound check next time?

Still Can’t Hear Me Now—or Find Me

We’ve reported each year how unreliable the cell and Wi-Fi service is—and unfortunately this year is no different. Beyond making it impossible to communicate (or post!), if you separate from your crew, this year we also tested the “Find My Friends” op for non-festgoers to locate us as a safety test. Upon three separate tests at different times Saturday/Sunday, one read “last known location three hours ago” while two others were about an hour—but froze indefinitely. 

Beyond the potential safety issue, there’s the whole getting in and out bit (see below)—but kinda hard to order a Lyft without a signal.

Better Late Than Never?

Notice Dreamville Fest’s Insta account didn’t post any photos or videos from Nicki Minaj’s performance? 👀 Perhaps the biggest upset of the weekend was Minaj arriving an hour late to her set time, which ultimately cut into J. Cole’s headlining act Sunday night. Womp womp. Fans crowded the Rise stage only to be left waiting… and waiting… and waiting. Personally we gave up after half an hour, but some fans stuck around to see the Pink Friday princess.

Trapped & Screwed

We’re not sure if it’s ever going to be easy to get out of the festival grounds, despite mass efforts and such seemingly smart ops as shuttle offerings and designated parking lots. 

On exiting Saturday, we were escorted out the West Entrance and, since we had no service to get an Uber/Lyft, we made the trek to D.P. Dough on Avent Ferry, where we waited almost an hour to get a ride at a reasonable price. (At this point it was after midnight and Ubers were still at least $50.)

Sunday, we chose to drive Downtown and park in the deck attached to The Casso. In essence, we had a “getaway car”—and it was a total game changer. While we still had to hike from the festival grounds, at this point we’re pros and the walk is second nature (comfy shoes are key!). 

Still, for a fest that encourages shuttles and ride shares, transpo out of the grounds remains a major issue. And having been to every installation of Dreamville since its inception, we can say with confidence that, so far, driving was the easiest, fastest, cheapest and least stressful way to get in and out.