Essence Festival is finally here! The New Orleans based weekend festival is a culmination and celebration of of Black culture in its most excellent form.
Essence Fest is all encompassing with the inclusion of the Film Festival, Beauty Carnival, Wellness House, the Celebrity Zone and much more held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
The nightly festivities for the weekend kicked off on Thursday night with Kevin Hart’s “Reality Check” tour. The nightly weekend festivities will continue with headlining performance from Nicki Minaj on Friday, Janet Jackson on Saturday and New Edition on Sunday. Minaj will be joined by Beenie Man, Machel Montano, Kes and Mickey Guyton.
On Saturday, Janet Jackson will be joined by Summer Walker, Carl Thomas, Stephanie Mills, Lucky Daye and a special set by D-Nice & Friends.
New Editions closes out on Sunday the weekend with Isley Brothers, The Roots, Method Man, Lil Kim, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, City Girls, Tems and Wizkid. The concerts can be streamed on Hulu as well.
In a summary of words from Essence CEO, those outside the diaspora are free and welcome to be apart, but make no mistake that we are not accommodating to make anyone feel comfortable. This is an unapologetic Black family reunion.
Essence partners include, Coca-Cola, North America, AT&T, The Walt Disney Company, Ford, McDonald’s and Target.
“So we embark upon the nation’s largest festival per day attendance, the ESSENCE Festival of Culture is honored to be returning with a family of partners that we are aligned to in mission and purpose, now and in the future,” said CEO Caroline Wang.
Stay tuned throughout the weekend for more details and all thing Essence Festival!
