Dreamville Festival 2022: What you need to know

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Dreamville Festival is making its long awaited return to the Oak City. Tens of thousands of people will be in attendance at the two-day live music event starting April 2.

J Cole, a Fayetteville native and Grammy award winning artist, is the creator of the two-day party that Raleigh Tourism expects to provide a significant financial boost to the city.

The first Dreamville Festival was held in 2019 and the following years were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, hotels were at 97% capacity and the one-day event generated $4 million in visitor spending.

Raleigh Tourism expects this year to be no different.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The festival runs April 2-3. Gates at Dorthea Dix Park will open at noon both days. Please see dreamvillefest.com for more information.

General Admission and General Admission+ tickets are still available online.

Those tickets cost $249.99 plus fees and $349.99 plus fees.

The VIP tickets, with costs ranging from around $600 to nearly $1,300, were sold out as of Friday.

WHAT'S THE FORECAST FOR DREAMVILLE

There will be 3 different stages throughout the festival, so you will be walking back and forth to catch your favorite artists.

RISE STAGE

Saturday:

1:40-2 p.m. Mereba

2:30-3 p.m. Fivio Foreign

3:40-4:10 p.m. Blxst

5:10-5:45 p.m. Ja Rule and Ashanti

6:55-7:40 p.m. Kehlani

8:40-9:25 p.m. Wizkid

Sunday:

1:40-2 p.m. Omen

2:30-3 p.m. Larry June

3:40-4:10 p.m. BIA

5-5:30 p.m. Wale

6:30-7:15 p.m. Wiz Khalifa

8:25-9:25 p.m. DJ Drama's Gangsta Grillz: Lil Wayne, Jeezy and T.I.

SHINE STAGE

Saturday:

1:20-1:35 p.m. Mikhala Jené

2:05-2:25 p.m. Lute 3:05-3:35 p.m. Morray

4:25-4:55 EarthGang

6-6:40 p.m. J.I.D. 7:55-8:25 p.m. Moneybagg Yo

9:40-10:45 p.m. Lil Baby

Sunday:

1:20-1:35 p.m. Kyle Banks

2:05-2:25 p.m. Cozz

3:05-3:35 p.m. Rico Nasty

4:20-4:50 Bas 5:45-6:15 p.m. T-Pain

7:30-8:10 p.m. Ari Lennox

9:40-10:45 p.m. J. Cole

DJ STAGE

Saturday:

12:30-1 p.m. Milhouse

1:15-1:45 p.m. See Bird Go

2-2:30 p.m. Nitrane

3-3:30 p.m. Falcons 4:15-5 p.m. Getlive

5:45-6:30 p.m. Kitty Cash 7:45-8:30 p.m. Donavan's Sound Club 9:30-10:30 p.m. DJ Moma & Road Poadcast

Sunday:

12:30-1 p.m. Milhouse

1:15-1:45 p.m. Dark Knight

2-2:30 p.m. Fannie Mae

3-3:30 p.m. Dana Lu

4:15-5 p.m. DJ Puffy

5:45-6:30 p.m. Andrew Power

7:30-8:30 p.m. Grits & Biscuits

9:30-10:30 p.m. DJ Moma & Road Poadcast

TRAFFIC

There will be two entrances to the festival at Dix Park. The West Entrance is off Barbour and Blair drives, while the East Entrance is off Umstead and Hunt drives.

The Wake County Sheriff's Office and Capitol Police will aid Raleigh officers in traffic control and general security throughout the weekend.

Bond said officers will be manually working some intersections. He urged people to take different exits and avoid Western Boulevard.

"If you're on our I-40 West take the Lake Wheeler Rd. Exit, exit 297. If you're on I-40 East take the Gorman Street exit which is 295 and that way we have people coming from two different directions instead of everybody trying to come at one single exit," Bond explained.

Officers are hoping to get people away from the area once the festival ends will go smoother this year because they added another ride-share location.

Bond reminded residents that portions of Centennial Parkway will be closed a little before 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday to assist with traffic exiting the venue.

In addition to traffic, Raleigh police said they have plans to respond to any safety concerns inside the venue. "We do have a contingency in place from a law enforcement perspective and from a medical perspective, we do have a contingency in place to address those issues on the onset, that those type of behaviors are observed so that we hope to address it immediately," Bond said.

HOW DO I GET TO THE FESTIVAL?

- By car: There will be no on-site parking at Dix Park for the event. Attendees can park at NC State University's Centennial Campus, right across the street from Dix Park. But event organizers warned these limited spaces could fill up quickly.

Parking passes are available on the Dreamville website for $30 plus fees per day.

- By shuttle: A downtown shuttle service will run from Moore Square to Dix Park over the course of the weekend. The shuttles will pick up attendees on East Martin Street and drop them off at the festival's West Entrance, closer than the designated parking area at NC State.

Shuttle passes cost $20 online, but are good for the entire weekend. They run from 10:30 am to 1 a.m.

- By ride-sharing app and taxi: Dreamville has designated pick-up zones on Centennial Parkway, which will allow those traveling by Uber, Lyft or taxi to access the park.

- By bike/foot: You can also walk or bike to Dix Park. The festival is about a mile from downtown Raleigh. For bikers you will need to lock it up at one of two designated bike parking areas, on the corner of either Centennial Parkway and Blair Drive or Western Boulevard and Hunt Drive.

NOT GOING? YOU CAN STILL WATCH THE FESTIVAL!

Dreamville has partnered with Amazon Music's Rotation to livestream the festival, with options to watch on Prime Video or Twitch. You can tune in at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at https://amzn.to/3LiDWM8, organizers said. It also will be streamed on the Amazon Music app and Amazon Prime Video.

FOR EMERGENCIES

Residents and attendees can also sign up for emergency alerts by texting "Dreamville" to 888777.

For more questions about attending the event, including what you can bring and schedules visit Dreamville's FAQ page.