Lil Wayne And Hot Boys Are Sending Dreamville Festival Out With A Bang

Wake up, babe. Dreamville Festival’s 2025 lineup just dropped! Late last year, J. Cole’s manager Ib Hamad announced the upcoming fifth iteration of his venerated hometown festival would be the last, and it looks like the North Carolina native is sending it out with a bang.

On Saturday, April 5, Lil Wayne, Hot Boys, and Big Tymers are headlining a lineup including 21 Savage, PartyNextDoor, Ludacris, Chief Keef, Keyshia Cole, Young Nudy, and Ab-Soul, while on Sunday, April 6, J. Cole leads a performing roster with Erykah Badu, Tems, GloRilla, Coco Jones, Wale, and BigXthaPlug. Naturally, Dreamville artists Ari Lennox, Bas, Cozz, Earthgang, JID, Lute, and Omen are all on the bill, as well.

Ib’s announcement caught fans off-guard, but didn’t come as too much of a surprise. Since the pandemic, live events have… let’s say “become more complicated to maintain.” The boutique festival lane is pretty crowded, artists are stretched thin, and event crews ain’t what they used to be. And while there’s little evidence that Dreamville Festival wasn’t making money, curating a festival of its size can require a lot of time, energy, and expense — things J. Cole’s fans are probably hoping he dedicates more to getting his album, The Fall Off, out the door after teasing it for something like six or seven years.

Here’s what Ib said:

Thank You North Carolina. Thank you to everyone who’s travelled from all over the last 4 years to enjoy our little family reunion. This Festival is something a lot of people have been working very hard to bring you and it’s honestly been a dream come true seeing the impact.

Over the years, the fest was postponed by weather, canceled due to coronavirus, expanded to two days, and saw a who’s-who of performers from Usher to Drake, with Nicki Minaj, Summer Walker, and more gracing its stage. If this really is the end, it’s been a hell of a run.

Tickets for the festival were still on sale as recently as Saturday (March 15), so there’s still time to gain access to the show. You can find more information here.