This weekend, tens of thousands of people from across the country gathered within the gates of Dreamville Festival on the 300 acres of Dorothea Dix Park. In December, North Carolina native J. Cole and Dreamville Records announced that this would be the last Dreamville ever since its beginning in 2019. 

Since its launch, the future of the festival wasn’t certain for Dreamville. However, through the years, the festival has etched itself into the fabric of the art and music community in Raleigh by emphasizing inclusivity, diversity and community. This celebration of music, art and culture has driven a surge of people to Raleigh for the past five years, filling up hotels, crowding the streets and bringing people to local businesses. 

Back in 2023, the festival drew over 100,000 people to Raleigh, and the festival had a $145.9 million impact on the city. These record-breaking numbers cemented Dreamville as the world’s largest artist-led music festival. 

“We want to put on something amazing for Carolina,” Cole said during his final remarks. “We love being able to offer that and bring amazing artists. … I’m sad, but we’ll be back, just in a newer form.”

Because of this reach, Dreamville has become a cultural touchstone for artists and music enjoyers during the past few years, and its proclaimed end has disappointed the masses. However, this brought people together to celebrate the so-called end of this cherished annual event. In his final remarks during his set, Cole spoke on the future of Dreamville or something very similar, and how this final Dreamville is an end that will lead to the beginning of something great. 

Lindsay Poplin, a local Raleigh resident, was among those disappointed about Dreamville’s current standing. 

“It’s my first year here in North Carolina, so I was hoping they could have another one,” Poplin said. “So I’m supportive of [the festival], because they bring in so much revenue and just all kinds of people from everywhere. And the artists, of course.”

She saw Dreamville as an opportunity to meet new people and thought it was a great experience to see the scale of the event on the ground. 

“You meet the good and the bad, but mostly good people,” Poplin said. “It’s just people, and they’re just so human, you know what I’m saying? They’re just so human. It’s cute to see. … It gives you perspective on how many people there are on this planet just at this event.”

Aside from J. Cole, headliners of this year’s festival included 21 Savage, Lil Wayne with Hot Boys and Big Tymers, Erykah Badu, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Chief Keef and Tems. The artists continually expressed their gratitude for Cole’s friendship and support and the opportunity to perform at a festival as large as Dreamville. It was also a reunion of sorts for Dreamville Records, bringing artists J.I.D, EarthGang and Lute, another North Carolinian. 

On day one, Keyshia Cole began the nostalgia, performing songs back to 2005 with songs from her album “The Way It Is,” and concluded the show with “Love,” which she dedicated to every supporter on the lawn. The Chief Keef show was more high-energy, with songs “Faneto,” “I Don’t Like” and “Love Sosa.” Later, PARTYNEXTDOOR preceded Lil Wayne at Shine Stage, both bringing crowds that filled over half of the park. 

Wayne brought out the Hot Boys and Big Tymers, who honored the early 2000s with songs “Back That Azz Up” and “Real Big,” before Wayne came out and opened with “Mr. Carter,” followed by songs such as “Lollipop,” “I’m Goin’ In” and “Money On My Mind.” Despite the heat and massive crowd, the first day was filled with awe and set up the second day for even more success, bringing in tens of thousands of more people than there were on day one. 

Josie Becerra is a student at Shaw University and was at the festival to fundraise for students at her school. She was surprised at how large the turnout was but excited to meet people from so many places with the same goal: two days of live music. 

“I’ve been hearing that a bunch of people from different states have been coming to Dreamville,” Becerra said.  “So it’s crazy because, I mean, it is the last one, sadly, but people have been eager to come, and that’s good, getting exposure from different states … it helps expand, and then you meet different new people all around.”

Becerra was grateful to attend the festival and ecstatic to see all of the artists and traction it brought to Raleigh. 

“There are banners and a lot of stuff that helps you tell that a big event is gonna happen, and Instagram is a big part of it, yeah, because you see ads about it, and you’re like, ‘Oh, yes, my artist is coming as well,’” Becerra said. “Since they released the lineup on Spotify, it tells you if your artist is going to be at Dreamville. So I enjoy that, because then I can re-catch up on my music if I know my artist.”

Sunday had a stacked lineup too, if not more than day one. BigXThaPlug, CoCo Jones, J.I.D, Glorilla, Tems, Erykah Badu and J. Cole played consecutively, beginning a communal stampede between the two stages to catch the next set across Dorothea Dix. 

The stages’ proximity to each other echoed each other across the park, allowing the people waiting for Tems to hear Glorilla, which became a theme throughout the weekend. 

Cole’s set, the last performance of the festival, was a journey through his discography. He opened with “Rags To Riches (At The Beep),” then brought out Erykah Badu to perform “Too Deep for the Intro,” and continued with “Wet Dreamz,” “No Role Modelz,” “She Knows” and “MIDDLE CHILD.” The crowd waited in anticipation for over an hour and a half between Tems’ set and his and killed time by sharing their admiration for Cole and his contribution to the hip-hop scene. 

“This festival will exist,” Cole said at the end of his set. “It might not have the … ‘Dreamville Festival’ name on it, but we will be back with this feel.”