Over the past few years, the first weekend in April has marked a musical celebration — the Dreamville Festival, which attracted top performers and fans from around to world to Raleigh's Dix Park.
However, since Raleigh officials and Dreamville organizers announced a new music festival would be taking over, details have been scarce.
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WRAL Investigates obtained documents that explain the city’s deal with festival organizers, which includes the agreement for the multi-year deal.
A 2021 contract requires Live Nation to book and promote a certain number of events. The Dreamville Festival is not mentioned by name.
However, a 2025 event agreement show the festival agreement is between the City of Raleigh and ScoreMore Holdings, LLC. Live Nation has a majority stake in ScoreMore Holdings, LLC.
The event agreement still sets the dates for future festivals in April. However, the language does not show an obligation to hold a festival.
“Such options are available regardless of whether a festival is held in a particular year,” the agreement reads.
It even gives an example: “(for illustrative purposes only, Event Organizer and Dreamville Festival, LLC shall have the option described herein for 2029 regardless of whether a festival is held in 2026, 2027, or 2028).”
For the 2025 Dreamville Festival, tickets went on sale in mid-December and the lineup of performers was announced about a month before the festival. But for spring 2026, neither of those milestones has been reached.
“The traditional date for Dreamville is the first weekend of April, and Easter falls on that weekend this year. We are discussing other possible dates with the organizers, but don’t have a firm date at this point,” City spokesperson Julia Milstead said.
WRAL also reached out to Live Nation, Dreamville and ScoreMore Holdings, LLC via email. We did not hear back before our deadline.
“This would be about the time we would be getting excited about Dreamville,” said Kiyomi Ownbey, the owner of vintage shop Father and Son. “I believe adding R&B and rap to another festival was amazing. It sort of makes Raleigh a great music hub - which we already have been, but it put us on a different platform. It opened us up to a bigger audience.”
Economic Impact
WRAL talked to Ownbey about the uncertainty of the festival’s future.
“No small business wants to encounter any dip in sales,” she said.
Ownbey said she, and other small businesses, always look forward to major events in the city. She said it brings more foot traffic and a sense of community.
“I hope that we are able to continue to have it in whatever form they would like to give us. We will support it, if they bring it,” she said.
She said she wants to see another music festival come to Raleigh but understands if organizers need more time “depending on who would be taking over the logistics for it.”
“[Organizers] did their homework. They put the effort in to understand the demographics of the area, the logistics of the area,” Ownbey said. “You want to complement what's already there, so you're adding higher quality to their living. I think that does take time.”
Visit Raleigh and the City of Raleigh previously said they expected the Raleigh’s “reputation as a music destination” would continue to grow in 2026 when WRAL previously noted the departure of two major music festivals.
In 2024, Raleigh raked in $145.9 million in economic impact from Dreamville. The economic impact from 2025’s festival has not been released yet.
The agreement sets a fixed fee of $125,000 per year for a single festival and $225,000 per year for two consecutive festivals during the 2026–2029 period to the City of Raleigh.
If the festival does come together this year, the contracts says that at least one of the Dreamville “key festival decision-makers” need to be a part of the future festival as an operator, producer or lead Live Nation representative. The contract does not name those key festival decision-makers," but Dreamville originated as the brainchild of Fayetteville musician J.Cole.
The festival would also be allowed to sell up to 52,500 tickets. An estimated 52,000 people attended each day of Dreamville Festival in 2024.