The 2024 ESSENCE Festival of Culture™
Celebrates 30 Years of Loving Us with Evening Performances
from USHER for a Special One-Night Only 20th Anniversary of
Confessions Milestone Moment, Janet Jackson, Charlie Wilson,
Victoria Monét, Birdman & Friends Presents 30 Years of Cash
Money Millionaires, A Special Passing of the Torch by Frankie
Beverly & Maze and more!
Legacy will take center stage as the 2024 ESSENCE Festival of
Culture™ presented by Coca-Cola® will be like no other, when it
makes its return to the festival’s forever home of New
Orleans from July 4-7, 2024. This year’s festival will
celebrate 30-years of loving us with a four-day event that
has spanned generations, both in-person and virtually. To
commemorate the three decades of the ESSENCE Festival of Culture™
presented by Coca-Cola® the evening concert series at the Caesar’s
Superdome will be rooted in legacy and evolution, to represent the
festival’s journey throughout its rich history to today. The
30th birthday celebration includes a star-studded line-up with
headlining performances from entertainers that have graced the
stage over the years, including USHER in a special one-night only
performance of the iconic album that turned 20 this year,
Confessions, global icon Janet Jackson, 3-time Grammy-Award winner
Victoria Monét, a milestone celebration with Birdman & Friends
Presents 30 Years of Cash Money Millionaires and 8-time ESSENCE
Festival vet, Charlie Wilson. The four-day event will close with
the return of the all-white party and a Special Tribute to Frankie
Beverly & Maze and passing of the torch moment, curated by
Grammy-Award winning producer & songwriter, Bryan-Michael
Cox. Attendees, fans and festival goers, are invited to join
the festivities as we look at the past, present and future of the
festival, originally birthed as a one-time-only event to celebrate
the 25th anniversary of ESSENCE Magazine. The 2024 ESSENCE
Festival of Culture™ presented by Coca-Cola® Evening Concert Series
will be hosted by Keke Palmer, Pretty Vee, Big Tigger,
Punkie Johnson and Kenny Burns with special DJ sets from Raj
Smoove, DJ Clark Kent and DJ Beverly Bond.
As the festival has evolved and expanded from its origin as
solely a music festival in 1994, so have the vast daytime
experiences offered to attendees each year at the Ernest N. Morial
Convention Center! This year, fans can expect the return of
festival-favorites such as the ESSENCE Food & Wine Festival™,
BEAUTYCON™: @ESSENCEFEST Edition, AFROPUNK BLKTOPIA™, ESSENCE Film
Festival® by ESSENCE STUDIOS™, ESSENCE Stage™, SOKO MRKT™ by
ESSENCE®, ESSENCE Authors™, ESSENCE® GU® CREATORS HOUSE, GBEF® HQ
and more. The Suede: Men’s Experience™ (formerly known as In His
Zone), will be a place centered around the Black man to encourage
fun, freedom and fellowship in a collegial atmosphere exploring
topics such as money, fatherhood, creativity, health, travel,
fashion and sports. For this monumental occasion, the festival will
introduce new experiences such as the ESSENCE Hollywood House™,
which will be a space for networking, mentoring, skills-building,
and increasing the visibility of Black people in entertainment
spaces.
Music legends will hit the evening stage at the 2024 ESSENCE
Festival of Culture™ presented by Coca-Cola® to celebrate the
annual festival that has spanned generations - with many of these
artists gracing the stage over their careers. At age 19,
USHER gave his first show-stopping performance on the
ESSENCE Festival stage in 1998 and as he celebrates 20 years of the
musical masterpiece that is Confessions, Mr. Raymond returns to
give a one-night only, never-before-seen show. Across the
festival’s 30-years, the incomparable Frankie Beverly
& Maze has given a showstopping closing performance and
as we commemorate this year’s festival, ESSENCE will give flowers
to the entertainers who started the all-white Sunday-night
tradition and a special passing of the torch presentation by Mr.
Beverly. Global icon Janet Jackson returns to the festival
stage, following her 2022 performance, which remains one of the
highest-grossing nights in the festival’s history. R&B icon
Charlie Wilson will take the stage to perform his undeniable
melodies and generation-defining songs, alongside some special
friends.
For 30 years, New Orleans has and will continue to be the
cultural backdrop of the ESSENCE Festival of Culture™ presented by
Coca-Cola® and like the 30-years since the festival’s inception,
2024 also marks the three-decade milestone of New Orleans-own Cash
Money. Birdman & Friends Presents 30 Years of Cash Money
Millionaires will bring a special performance to our shared,
forever home of the Crescent City, alongside some of our favorite
hometown artists and more. Grammy-nominated musical group, Tank and
The Bangas, continues the New Orleans takeover with a curated
performance alongside special guests & New Orleans natives,
Teedra Moses, HaSizzle and Dawn Richard.
Victoria Monét joins the 2024 ESSENCE Festival of
Culture™ presented by Coca-Cola® line-up for a co-headlining and
inaugural performance on the legacy stage that will for sure be a
showstopper! ESSENCE couldn’t celebrate a milestone birthday party
without one of the best DJs of the culture, D-Nice, who will
return to the Superdome stage for a special presentation of his
global sensation, Club Quarantine Live. The performance will
feature icons of hip hop, latin jazz funk, R&B and soca
including Method Man, Sheila E., Big Boi, Donell Jones, Tweet,
Machel Montano and Lloyd. Special curated performances each
night include Grammy-winning band members, The Roots &
Friends featuring Ari Lennox, Mickey Guyton and special
guest, T. Pain; and the reunion of R&B supergroup,
TGT (Tyrese, Ginuwine & Tank). Additional evening
performers include Nigerian singer & songwriter Ayra
Starr, R&B songstresses SWV, award-winning hip-hop
artist Busta Rhymes, R&B singer Jacquees and more
to be announced!
“For three decades, the ESSENCE Festival of Culture™ has
blossomed into a pillar of our culture. It spans generations and
echoes life stages, growing at the vibrant intersection of art,
culture, freedom, and justice. As the festival approaches its
30-year milestone, we are excited to welcome and celebrate with all
our closest family and friends around the world—whether it's your
30th, 11th (like me), 2nd, or even first time. It promises to be an
enriching four days of daytime and evening experiences," said
Hakeem Holmes, Vice President of the ESSENCE Festival of Culture™.
"New Orleans is our home, my hometown, and we look forward to
embracing this community once again. Last year, we proudly
generated $316 million for New Orleans and Louisiana, and we look
forward to another year of new memories. This is your formal
invitation to join us—bring your family, friends, and cousins too—
for a celebration of unparalleled Black joy. Don’t forget to
download the app for all the latest updates."
The 2024 ESSENCE Festival of Culture™ is presented by Coca-Cola®
and major partners, AT&T, L’Oréal Groupe, McDonald’s USA, and
Target Corporation. Stay tuned for all official updates for this
year’s festival at ESSENCEFestival.com and join the conversation on
social at @ESSENCEFest on X, Facebook, and Instagram. Tickets are
now available on the festival’s website and for those who are not
able to attend in-person, please tune-in to ESSENCE.com and
ESSENCEFestival.com for a virtual viewing experience. Consider this
your official invitation to meet us at our 30th birthday party!
Don’t be the last person in the group chat to lock in their hotel,
flights, tickets and all-white outfit, to what will for sure be an
unmatched year!
ABOUT ESSENCE COMMUNICATIONS, INC. ESSENCE Communications
is the number one—and only 100% Black-owned—media, technology and
commerce company at scale dedicated to Black women and communities.
With a community of more than 31 million Black women, ESSENCE
inspires a global audience through diverse storytelling and
immersive original content rooted in Culture, Equity and
Celebration. The brand's multi-platform presence in/ publishing,
experiential and online encompasses its namesake magazine; digital,
video and social platforms; television specials; books; and
signature live events, including Black Women in Music, Black Women
in Hollywood, ESSENCE Black Women in Sports, Fashion House, Street
Style and the ESSENCE Festival of Culture™.
ABOUT ESSENCE VENTURES A multi-faceted ecosystem that
uplifts the Global Black experience through frictionless,
borderless economic advancements at the intersection of community
and culture, ESSENCE Ventures is a member of the Sundial Group of
Companies and is the parent company for ESSENCE Communications,
Inc., AFROPUNK, Beautycon and Essence Studios.
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