D-Nice & Friends to Headline Baltimore Festival Before Preakness

D-Nice is bringing his “Club Quarantine” vibes to Baltimore!

The rapper and DJ, who became a household name in 2020 for his virtual dance parties, will headline a festival during Preakness week to help amp up the event. D-Nice & Friends will perform at Pier Six Pavilion on Wednesday, May 14.

“I called him up, asked if he’d come perform at Pier Six, and he was totally pumped about it,” First Lady Dawn Moore said in an interview. “He said, ‘I haven’t done Club Quarantine in Baltimore yet,’ and he’s super excited. He’s bringing a bunch of his friends along to perform.”

The week of events leading up to Preakness will kick off with the fourth annual George “Spider” Anderson Music and Arts Festival in Park Heights, happening the Saturday before Preakness.

On Sunday, there will be a tour of Maryland horse farms. Monday brings a “ticketed premier golf event,” and Thursday wraps up with a fundraiser at Government House, Governor Wes Moore’s residence in Annapolis, to raise money for future Preakness festivals.

D-Nice’s concert will be separate from any performances at Pimlico Race Course on race day. The Stronach Group, which oversees the Preakness, hasn’t announced any shows yet.

In the last three years, the announced attendance for Preakness weekend has been between 60,000 and 65,000 people, about a third of what it was in 2019. Organizers are hoping that the week of events this year will spark excitement and start to turn things around.

The festival is being led by First Lady Dawn Moore and comes at a key moment for Maryland racing. On January 1, a state-created nonprofit, the Maryland Jockey Club, took over racing operations in the state, with Bill Knauf as president. The new organization held its first race on January 17.

Plus, Pimlico is getting a full rebuild. Despite some pushback, state lawmakers approved $400 million in bonds last year to fund the renovation of Pimlico Race Course and a new training track in Carroll County.

After years of false starts, lawmakers are hoping they’ve finally done what’s needed to replace the aging Pimlico.

The demolition of Old Hilltop is set to begin just a month after Preakness, with construction starting in the fall. It’s going to take about 23 months to tear down and rebuild Pimlico.

With the timeline tight, the plan right now is for the Preakness to take place at Laurel Park in 2026, then return to the brand-new Pimlico in 2027.