Our artist predictions for Dreamville Festival 2025
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Dreamville Festival returns for a fifth and final year in Raleigh April 5-6, 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Prince Williams/FilmMagic
J. Cole's final Dreamville Festival will be April 5-6 at Dorothea Dix Park. Following the announcement of recent festival headliners and acts at Bonnaroo and Field & Stream Music Fest, we started wondering who will be featured in Dreamville's 2025 lineup.
Why it matters: Since its 2019 debut, Dreamville has become a signature social and cultural annual event, putting North Carolina on the global stage and regularly bringing around 100,000 visitors to Dorothea Dix Park.
- The event boosts the local economy each year. The 2023 festival had an economic impact of $122 million for Wake County, according to economic impact consulting firm AngelouEconomics.
An official festival lineup will be announced soon. Here are our predictions for the 2025 lineup.
Kendrick Lamar
Context: Cole might've released his "7 Minute Drill" diss track to Lamar, but he later made a public apology during his performance in 2024, asking for his forgiveness as a friend.
- It's unclear if they made amends, but Drake co-headlining with Cole in 2023 proved that two legends can coexist. Plus, one of Lamar's recent diss tracks toward Drake ("Euphoria") acknowledges his friendship with Cole.
Our thought bubble: Lamar is a hot commodity, with a booked and busy schedule this year, including an upcoming Super Bowl performance and tour. His upcoming GNX tour, which includes one stop in North Carolina, doesn't start until April 19, so he'd still have time to headline Dreamville.
The bottom line: With this being the final year of the festival, it needs a show-stopping headliner like Lamar to satisfy fans.
Future
Context: Cole and Future released a song called "Red Leather" shortly after Lamar and Drake's rap feud started.
Our thought bubble: Although Cole admitted in his song "Port Antonio" that he wanted to stay out of the battle between his two friends, the surprise appearance on the track shared with Future suggests that Cole might've chosen a side.
- Plus, Future's schedule is also open following his headlining appearance at Rolling Loud the month before.
Chris Brown
Context: Brown was supposed to headline the festival in 2024 with Muni Long but canceled at the last minute because of "unforeseen circumstances" and was replaced by 50 Cent.
Our thought bubble: If he made a comeback this year, it would be quite the redemption for fans he disappointed.
The bottom line: He's expected to perform at the Tycoon Music Festival in mid April and there are currently no other scheduling conflicts.
Megan Thee Stallion
Context: Past festival lineups have typically featured notable female rappers, such as Nicki Minaj, so an addition like Thee Stallion could also draw a large fan base.
My thought bubble: She's already booked for two music festivals, including Coachella and Summerfest, so she might be open to adding one more festival appearance to her calendar.
The Weeknd
Context: In the last two years, the headliners for the first day of the festival have been R&B artists, like Usher and Chris Brown, so The Weekend would fit the vibe.
- He was also expected to release an album and make a festival appearance in Los Angeles until the recent wildfires ravaged the area. The Rose Bowl show in LA has been canceled but The Weeknd does intend to release the album at a later date.
My thought bubble: The new album and a list of his top charting songs would make The Weeknd a likely headline contender.
What's next: General admission tickets for the two-day festival are available for $299.99-$309.99. Other ticket options are sold out but you can join the waitlist.
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