Like other large and popular events, Dreamville is making its big return after COVID. The musical festival had its highly anticipated comeback the first weekend of April at Raleigh’s own Dorothea Dix Park. Thousands of people from all over the US attended the festival, including Raleigh natives, and those from Fayetteville – the hometown of J.Cole, who founded the music festival. Fans from near and far were ecstatic to hear some of their favorite artists perform their top songs. Senior Reagan Emerline attended the festival for the first time this past weekend. She said she was “most excited to hear ‘No Role Models’ by J.Cole, or ‘Freestyle’ by Lil Baby.” The lineup was stacked for the festival, and in addition to being the name of the festival, Dreamville is the name of Cole’s record label. It  includes artists such as JID, Earthgang, and Bas, who all gave performances at the festival.

  Day one started off with a bang, spanning ten total hours, and holding twenty-one performances.  Some honorable performances were given by Kehlani and Moneybagg Yo, but Lil Baby gave the show of the night, playing his biggest hits like “Drip Too Hard.” Emerline added that even though she was looking forward to certain songs, other artists left the biggest mark. She commented, “My favorite performance the first day was Fivio Foreign performing ‘City of Gods.’ Favio Foreign’s set was early in the day, but not forgettable.” When asked her favorite memory, Emerline responds, “My favorite memory was hearing the song “Off The Grid” by Kanye West and Favio Foreign because I have always wanted to hear a Kanye West song performed live. That was pretty close.” It was a very successful day, but the weekend was not over yet. 

  The second and final day of Dreamville left with a bang! With even more big artists and even bigger smash hits, Dreamville was the place to be on Sunday. The festival was full of diversity, being able to appeal to young and old rap fans alike. One of rap’s hottest and newest rappers Rico Nasty made her first Dreamville appearance. In addition, the classics made their show, featuring T-Pain, Wiz Khalifa, T.I, and Lil Wayne. The final performance to end the day and to wrap up the festival was handed to J.Cole. Being the founder of the festival and the record label, it is only right that he ends the weekend. Not being able to pick one song, Emerline concludes by saying the best part of Sunday was “J.Cole’s entire set.” From the delightful weather to the hours of live music, Dreamville was a success for  the artists, and the hip hop community as a whole.