J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival May Return Next Year

November 13, 2026

J. Cole‘s Dreamville Festival may return next year after a permit was filed by event organizers.

According to a report on Axios Raleigh, published on Tuesday (Nov. 10), organizers of the Dreamville Festival filed a special event permit to hold a festival at Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, N.C., in 2027. The permit, filed by members of Live Nation and the Dreamville Foundation, lists the event as “Dreamville Presents,” a multi-stage music festival planned for April 3-4.

The news outlet reports that the permit was filed in October and remains under review, so the music festival has not yet been confirmed. The proposed filing details plans to accommodate up to 55,000 attendees with on-site food service featuring booths, food trucks, and push carts, along with provisions for over 500 usable toilets.

XXL has reached out to J. Cole’s Dreamville team, as well as reps for Live Nation and Dix Park, for comment.

J. Cole performed his last Dreamville Festival in April of 2025. During a press conference, festival organizers insisted that Dreamville Fest would return, but under a different iteration. There was no Dreamville Fest in 2026.

Cole launched his Dreamville Festival in September of 2018. The music fest’s inaugural performance lineup included Young Thug, Big Sean, SZA, Nelly, Rich The Kid, Ari Lennox, and Rapsody, as well as Dreamville artists Bas, J.I.D, Cozz, and EarthGang. In May of 2022, data from the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau revealed that J. Cole’s second-ever Dreamville Festival generated $6.7 million for Raleigh, N.C.’s local economy.

“My team and I continue to be awed by the overwhelming support we’ve received since closing out the second Dreamville Festival [in April 2022]. But to now fully realize the festival’s positive impact on the local economy and tourism, it truly is unbelievable,” said Dreamville Partner and Festival President Adam Roy at the time.

Read news of a possible new Dreamville Festival in 2027 below.