‘Definitely grateful’: Dreamville Festival pumps millions of dollars into Raleigh community

Dreamville Festival, the largest music event in North Carolina, not only brings tens of thousands of fans to Raleigh, it generates millions of dollars for the local economy.

Last year, the event on April 1-2 drew a record-breaking 100,000 people to Dorothea Dix Park and had an estimated economic impact of $145.9 million, festival organizers said Tuesday.

The 2023 figure combines festival operations with visitor and resident spending. The biggest boost was for hotels, which saw a $20.5 million impact, followed by food and beverage with $18.7 million, and city transportation at $9.8 million, organizers said.

This year’s festival is Saturday and Sunday. Organizers have not released the estimated economic impact of this weekend’s event.

Impacts on the local economy

Matthew Patton, the executive vice president of AngelouEconomics, the company behind the report, said the $145.9 million figure includes more than what people spend while attending the concert.

Indirect impacts include increases in sales, incomes and jobs that support or supply Dreamville: For example, a company hired to install extra fencing for the weekend, Patton said. Those companies might have to hire extra employees or spend more money because of the event.

Induced economic impact would include extra people that are hired or bonuses that are paid due to the festival.

Those employees could “turn around and spend money on coffee, or they might take their family or significant other out to a restaurant for a special dinner, or they might buy some toys for children,” Patton said.

“Those are the included ripples that we see,” he said. “It’s that extra local spending in the economy because of an indirect activity.”

In Wake County, hotel occupancy last year reached 94% on the first night of the festival, up 2.6% from the same day in 2022. The number of rooms sold also increased by 11.7% on the second night of the event. The increased business reflects those here for the festival, as well as other reasons.

“Just about every festival, especially Dreamville, attracts a lot of folks from out of state or our of the country, and that means there are dollars being spent locally that otherwise aren’t,” Patton explained. “Those are the best kinds of dollars coming in. ... That’s always a great thing for the local economy to get the influx of new dollars.”

Small businesses benefiting

For the third year in a row, Vybez Kitchen, a Jamaican restaurant in Greensboro, will be a vendor at Dreamville Festival.

The business was started in 2020 by Kyler Evans, 24, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and has since expanded to a brick-and-mortar restaurant with over 20,000 followers on social media between Instagram and Facebook.

“When you support other people that automatically support you, a lot of greatness comes your way,” Evans said.

“I’m definitely grateful to be here, it’s a life-changing experience for me,” he said. “I graduated college (three) years ago and I’m doing my thing (at) the biggest festival in North Carolina.”

Dreamville will have over 50 diverse food and drink vendors at the park throughout the weekend. Fans can choose from Caribbean, Hibachi, Greek, vegan, seafood, Mexican, and Korean cuisines, including dessert options like frozen ice and popsicles.

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5 years of Dreamville Festival

This year’s headliners include festival founder J. Cole and self-proclaimed “Queen of Rap” Nicki Minaj on the second day of the event.

Rapper 50 Cent will be a headliner Saturday alongside R&B singer and Grammy-winner SZA, who is returning after performing during the inaugural event in 2018. Others include Monica, Jeezy, Lil Yachty, Jeezy and ScHoolboy Q.

The festival, created in 2018 by Fayetteville-raised Cole and his music label, Dreamville Records, features dozens of mainstream and local hip-hop and R&B artists. In past years, some big names have performed like rappers Lil’ Wayne, Young Thug, Big Sean, Nelly, Wizkid and Lil’ Baby, and singers like Ashanti, SZA, Ari Lennox and Sean Paul.

In 2023, Grammy Award winners Usher and Burna Boy headlined the event along with rapper Drake, who brought out surprise guests 21 Savage, Lil’ Wayne and Lil Uzi Vert.