As the fifth and final Dreamville Festival has been put to bed, we recap the good, bad and dreamy moments of this year’s fest. And stay tuned for the new four-year music fest under the Dreamville label coming to Dix Park next year.
BEST
Weather This year’s fest was definitely the warmest and sunniest, complete with a chill breeze and partly cloudy skies to provide some relief from the heat. Even nighttime temps didn’t fall below 70—a plus compared to previous years’ nippy evening weather (not having to carry around a jacket all day? Big win)—but rain did start to fall Sunday at the end of the night. It was hot during peak daytime though, but luckily with Dreamville’s many shaded areas, there were plenty of spots to escape the heat.
Liquor Pop-Ups No one pulled out the stops more than this year’s liquor partners. Patrón set up a literal house in the middle of the festival pouring drinks in the brand’s signature tequila bottles, while Hennessy featured an energetic DJ set by Mannie Fresh and guest bartender appearance from Normani. And, as always, Casa Bacardi offered a tropical oasis to enjoy refreshing ’tails and make a wish in the branded fountain.
Art There were oodles of photo ops at this year’s fest, including a plethora of backdrops by local artists—showing that Dreamville Fest is more than just a music fest. Interactive structures also abounded, including a rainbow-hued string display that moved with the wind, neon rainbow setups, an inflatable flower installation, sunflower benches and much more.
NC Apparel North Carolina represent! Artists repped local sports with fashionable ’fits—from Lil Wayne’s branded Canes jersey to Ludacris’ UNC Tar Heels getup.
Throwback Artists While we love the top artists in today’s rap/hip-hop game (GloRilla ATE), it was a delight to see early aughts faves like Ludacris and Wale take the stage. Luda got the crowd hype with fan-favorites, even playing “Move Bitch” twice for an abundant crowd that belted along the lyrics both times.
Stage Visuals Dreamville really upped the ante with the stage visuals this year. Think raging flames setting the scene for 21 Savage; a smokeshow during Lil Wayne’s headlining performance, plus supercool graphics for his gaggle of coperformers (Hot Boys & Big Tymers, Birdman, Juvenile, etc.); an endearing animation behind Earthgang; lightning effects and strobe lights showcasing Erykah Badu; and *lit* light shows during the evening acts. And we’d be remiss not to mention J. Cole’s two-story home setup, where he kicked off the show upstairs sitting at a desk, working his way down to the first-floor couch.
Safety Precautions Walk anywhere on the grounds and there’s likely a medical tent in sight, a great comfort in the case of an injury, dehydration or other medical emergency—even a Narcan tent as a fail-safe. Water stations were also scattered throughout, in addition to Electrolit samples near the entrance. And staff were quick to rescue patrons in need during sets (s/o crowd members who waved their phone flashlights to gain attention).
WORST
Sound Issues Despite two entire days of live music, J. Cole’s mic failed during the opening of his final headlining performance, a major flop. Erykah Badu’s mic also went out while she was on stage with him—and Earthgang’s sound system was having issues at the start of their set. Luckily, Cole noticed his vocals weren’t projecting and restarted his first song for the enormous crowd to hear, and Earthgang’s DJ stopped the set to figure out the issue before the duo came on.
Huge Crowds With 52,000+ people in attendance each day, Dreamville sold out once again—and it showed. Sunday was especially packed, with clusters of festivalgoers descending on Dix, making it hard to maneuver throughout the grounds. Toes were stepped on and several folks had to be escorted out of the throngs during individual sets (though alcohol and other substances could definitely be in play). During his Sunday set, even J. Cole paused to take it all in—marveling at how far the crowd stretched.
Long Lines Perhaps inevitable when it comes to a festival of this size and scale, lines for merch and some bars and some food vendors stretched endlessly. Hands down, the GA merch tent was the roughest scene, with throngs of festivalgoers snaking through the grounds to snag a hoodie or T-shirt—barricades had to be brought in on day 2 to help. Even in the VIP area, we waited ~20 minutes for an order of fries—but, worth it (!).
Poor Service After five years, we thought Dreamville had finally figured out the shotty service situation. Saturday we were able to text/call/post to social media with minimal delay, but Sunday harkened back to the dead bars of years’ past, getting worse as the day went on. By the evening, we were unable to text or make calls, and Instagram wouldn’t update.
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.
Raleigh is getting its first hydroponic community garden.
A local restaurateur and his father are soon going to be able to increase food production in one area of Raleigh from 500 to 32,000 pounds (!)—and they don’t even have to use any dirt to do so. Enter Raleigh’s first indoor year-round vertical hydroponic community garden, which breaks ground today, Dec. 20.
A partnership between DTR-headquartered Green Blue Marketplace, founded by Oak City Fish and Chips owner Isaac B. Horton IV and his father, Dr. Isaac B. Horton III; and Passage Home, which works to break the cycle of poverty in Wake County, the Green Blue Community Garden will provide affordable, healthy, nutrient-rich food for all communities in Raleigh.
“This partnership will provide more than just an interesting new way to grow food,” says Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin, “it will bring opportunities that will have a far-reaching impact on people’s lives—starting in Southeast Raleigh.”
The garden comes after the Green Blue Marketplace—nee 2021—developed an ag and health tech platform to produce toxic-free, nutrient-fresh and secure food following six years of research in hydroponics, health and wellness.
Research done by the Hortons found that key nutrients in fruits and vegetables can leave the plant in only three days. By producing hydroponic food right here in Raleigh, the community garden will provide the community with the most nutrient-dense fresh produce before the nutrient index is compromised.
“This is a major advance in nutrition and food security for people in Raleigh,” says Dr. Philip Brown, past president of the North Carolina Medical Society. “I look forward to scaling across NC as we use the objective of fresh food as medicine to create new levels of health in our state.” And this is just the beginning of Raleigh becoming a Green (Blue) City.
