[Gallery] Could Dreamville Festival Be Bigger Than ‘Coachella’?
Raleigh, NC – The first-ever Dreamville Festival took place in Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh on Saturday, April 6th and it was nothing short of SPECTACULAR. J. Cole, Nelly, 21 Savage, SZA, and Big Sean are just a few of the names that performed Saturday (April 6) that had the 40,000 plus fans fighting leg fatigue in muddy conditions the entire night.
According to the DVF website, they mention that this festival was designed in mind that it provided an opportunity for rapper/humanitarian Jermaine Cole, best known as J. Cole, to give back to his home state that has helped shape the artist he has become with a one-of-a-kind celebration of local culture, food and art that also features a curated selection of music performers blending together some of today’s biggest national acts with exciting up-and-comers.
If Dreamville Festival continues to have this level of success, they will be competing with the ‘Coachella’ and ‘Rolling Loud’ music festivals in the next five years.
The original Dreamville Festival was set for fall 2018, but Hurricane Florence ruined those plans and forced Cole and his foundation to move dates. The lineup included SZA, Big Sean, Nelly, 21 Savage, 6lack (pronounced “black”), Davido, Teyana Taylor, Saba, Rapsody, and Mez. The majority artists formerly mentioned are signed to the Dreamville label. All proceeds from the festival will go to the Dorothea Dix Park Conservancy and the Dreamville Foundation.
The thought process was formed from the support of Dreamville, Cole established The Dreamville Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, in October 2011. The Foundation mentioned the reason for its creation was to ‘bridge the gap’ between the worlds of opportunity and the urban youth” of Cole’s hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
To be honest, I was not ready. It was super muddy, super hot, I walked over 40,000 steps for over eight hours, but it was worth it! The day was filled with great entertainment on both the ‘Rise’ and ‘Shine’ stages. Despite the huge amount of soreness caused from standing on a hilly, muddy surface for eight hours plus walking an excessive amount, fans took turns all day walking back and forth between both stages to get the best experience possible.
The festival began with several local DJ’s including Durham-native DJ Double J to get the crowd super hype. The first set of artists were cool, nothing over the top about the first few. The crowd started to thicken around 3pm for the Rapsody (NCCU alum) performance. Davido, a singer/producer born in Atlanta and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, began to really get the crowd engaged with a huge Nigerian flag being spread across the crowd.
By the time 6lack hit the stage 6pm, the crowd was colossal. There was people for miles it seemed. What used to be firm grassed turned in to sunken holes of mud puddles that popped up like unwanted weeds in the springtime.
For 40,000+ people, the operation of the event went smoothly. Getting food was nearly impossible unless you had the patience of a saint. Lines for nearly anything (food, merchandise, drinks, bathrooms, etc.) were at least 100 people deep.
Interactive art was the theme of the festival, with several ‘Dreamville Festival’ statues placed around the park. It was really cool to see tribute art to recent fallen rappers Mac Miller and Nipsey Hussle.
Several rappers took the time to do a tribute to Nip, who was recently slain in Los Angeles last week, but J. Cole took the cake. His performance had the entire crowd rocking side to side while fighting back tears. Cole’s entire set was actually the best, but what did you expect? The NC-native walked the crowd through hits from every project from his beginning to his latest album, ‘KOD.’
During his set, J. Cole surprised fans with a special treat by bringing 21 Savage back on stage before going all-in and bringing out Philadelphia-rapper Meek Mill to bless the stage with several of his hits, including ‘Dreams and Nightmares.’
This event was very smooth to have the amount of people in attendance that they did. The inaugural Dreamville Festival was certainly one to remember. The artists were great, the food and beverage prices were a little high when you could actually get up to the front of a line, and it was tough having only a few siting areas.
Understood that it is a park, but a few tables or chairs for people to stop and eat or people who are feeling weary could rest their legs for a few minutes. Despite the small flaws, this event was SPECTACULAR! If Dreamville Festival continues to have this level of success, they will be competing with the ‘Coachella’ and ‘Rolling Loud’ music festivals in the next five years.
For the entire gallery of pictures, check out our gallery from Reporter Lawrence Davis III below. For more information on local events, news, and sports in your area, make sure to visit www.spectacularmag.com
