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On December 10, 2024, J. Cole surprised fans after announcing his intention to retire his Dreamville Festival with one final concert, set to be held on April 5 and April 6, 2025, at Dorothea Dix Park.
J. Cole started Dreamville Festival with his manager Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad and Sascha Stone Guttfreund, co-founder of the music promotion company ScoreMore, in 2019. Since its inauguration, every show has been held in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Dreamville Festival is an annual arts and music live event, with popular artists from Cole's label performing on stage before Jermaine closes out the night as the concert's headliner.
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The official Dreamville Instagram account uploaded a post last Tuesday confirming that next year's music festival will be their "Fifth & Final" live concert, stating:
"What a ride it’s been… We can’t thank y’all enough for all the memories we’ve shared. From the very beginning, the idea behind the fest was creating a place where our fans, the Dreamville community, could spend time together, a place where they could see themselves reflected, a place to share in experiences. Let’s run it back one more time in April!"
While the Dreamville Festival will officially end its 5 year run in April, the concert is not expected to be the last time fans see J. Cole performing live as the rapper is gearing up for the release of his highly anticipated The Fall Off album.
The 39-year-old rapper performed a special one-night-only concert in New York, last night (December 16), marking the 10th Anniversary of his third studio album 2014 Forest Hills Drive.
The concert was held in New York's Madison Square Garden, where J. Cole performed live in front of a sold-out crowd. Interestingly, as part of the album's anniversary show, "2,014 tickets" were sold at $1 on a first-come-first-serve basis at Irving Plaza.
After performing the entirety of his third studio album, alongside hits like Work Out, Power Trip, 2Face, and more, Cole alluded to the oncoming release of The Fall Off before walking off stage, stating:
"I’ll see y’all at Dreamville Festival. Hopefully I’ll have something new to perform for y’all."
"Each reunion has been unforgettable" - J. Cole and Dreamville confirm Swan Song Festival for 2025
J. Cole first launched the Dreamville Festival in 2018 but postponed the concert's debut to April 2019 due to complications that arose because of Hurricane Florence.
Since its first show, the festival has seen artists like 21 Savage, SZA, Lil Yachty, Drake, and more perform live in North Carolina, alongside Dreamville signees like JID and Earthgang.
On December 11, Dreamville's official Instagram account uploaded a trailer for their Fifth and Final concert run in 2025, with a caption dedicated to fans who've supported and attended the festival for the past six years.
Dreamville explained the various doubts and challenges they faced when attempting to host an annual music and arts festival, citing how they "took a leap of faith" in 2018.
"We took a leap of faith—breaking ground, making announcements, and even navigating reschedules due to the elements and a world that seemed to be falling apart. Through every challenge and milestone, our community stood by us," the caption read.
They continued by sharing their appreciation for everyone who would gather in Raleigh, North Carolina, every year, calling it one of the "most fulfilling chapters" of their creative journey.
The caption ends with them thanking day-one fans and newcomers for attending the Dreamville Festival every year, stating:
"Whether it’s the day-one fans or the newcomers, each reunion has been unforgettable. As we approach our 5th and final year, we want to invite our alumni and new pledges to come together one last time—to break bread, share fellowship, and celebrate this thing of ours. See you soon. Dreamville"
This year's Dreamville Festival was memorable for J. Cole's on-stage apology to Kendrick Lamar, after he dissed the Compton native on his Grammy-nominated mixtape Might Delete Later.
While the line-up for Dreamville Festival 2025 is yet to be announced, General Admission tickets are currently on sale on their official website. Fans interested in purchasing VIP Tickets for the final concert will have to join an official waitlist.
