Usher, Janet Jackson to headline 30th Essence of Culture Festival – The Daily Reporter

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Black culture’s top policymakers, thought leaders, creatives, spiritual gurus, business movers and shakers, health experts and, of course, musical talent are set to converge on New Orleans over the Fourth of July weekend as part of the Essence of Culture Festival.

The festival kicks off Thursday and runs through Sunday. This year, it celebrates 30 years of providing entertainment, networking and thought-provoking discussions to inspire solutions to issues facing urban communities. The core principle remains the same: party with a purpose.

Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to speak with Essence CEO Caroline Wanga at the Global Black Economic Forum on Saturday at the festival. The visit comes amid calls for President Joe Biden to be replaced on the Democratic presidential ticket following his debate with former President Donald Trump. These types of in-depth dialogues, covering a wide range of topics, can be expected throughout the event.

“This experience was designed to celebrate 25 years of Essence magazine, Black womanhood,” said Hakeem Holmes, vice president of the Essence Culture Festival. “Black women built this festival, Black women attended this festival. They had a great time, built relationships and networked, and then took what they learned home.”

Since its beginnings, the festival has evolved into a multigenerational event that seeks to reach the entire Black family, offering “a little bit of everything for everyone,” Holmes said.

Holmes credits the transition in large part to the city that has hosted the event every year but one. In 2006, Houston hosted the festival while New Orleans was dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Lisa Alexis, director of Mayor Latoya Cantrell's Office of Cultural Economy, said Essence's 30 years have had a $327 million impact on the city.

“It started out as a party with a specific purpose, but over the years they developed the concept,” Alexis said. Now we have the Global Black Economic Forumthe film festival, a wellness space, a market. Through this partnership, our businesses have the opportunity to participate in the supplier market, and we can share and support each other as our cultural entrepreneurs seek to grow.

It's that kind of sharing that helps keep the festival relevant, Holmes said.

“Our relevance is determined by our relationship with this community,” said Holmes, a New Orleans native. “We’re constantly listening. We have what people want to see throughout this event. We have people coming in to discuss what steps they can take for next steps when they get home. And we have parties, too!”

Holmes said keeping longtime fans engaged with the festival is always a challenge.

“It’s like expecting something new while keeping the familiar,” he said. “I think it’s like going to church every Sunday. You’re going to hear a different sermon from the same person, but for some reason, every Sunday you’re touched differently. That’s what the festival is all about. It’s a community gathering. It’s a homecoming. It’s a reunion. And I think that’s what draws people in and keeps them interested.”

Holmes said the festival will be available in person and virtually (via essence.com ). “We give people everything they want in a consolidated time frame during the day and in the evening they can go out and have a good time,” he said.

The social event includes a concert Friday night at the Superdome with Bryan Birdman Williams and friends who are also celebrating 30 years of Cash Money Records and its millionaires. Juvenile, Busta Rhymes, T-Pain, The Roots and Mannie Fresh are on the bill. R&B singers Jacquees and Ari Lennox and country artist Mickey Guyton will also take the stage.

Usher in the headlines on Saturday and celebrates the 20th anniversary of his album Confessions, which included hits like “Yeah,” “Burn,” “Caught Up” and “Bad Girl.” “Confessions” has sold more than 10 million copies in the United States. Other artists scheduled to perform include Charlie Wilson, Ayra Starr, Big Boi, Donell Jones, Lloyd, Method Man, Sheila E. and TGT, a trio consisting of Tyrese, Ginuwine and Tank.

Janet Jackson will headline the final night on Sunday. Mount VictoriaKeke Palmer, Teedra Moses, Tank and the Bangas, Dawn Richard, SWV, Jagged Edge, Bilal and Anthony Hamilton will also perform. The four-day event will conclude with the return of the all-white party and a special tribute to Frankie Beverly & Maze, hosted by Grammy-winning producer and songwriter Bryan-Michael Cox. Beverly said he is no longer performing and the band is on a farewell tour.

For the first 15 years of the festival, Frankie Beverly & Maze closed the event with a massive performance, watched by thousands of people singing along to the band's hits, including Before I Let Go, Joy and Pain and Happy Feelin's. In 2010, a new producer of the event ended the tradition to the disappointment of many festival-goers despite the talent tapped for the closing act, including Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige and Lionel Richie.

“This is our big send-off for Frankie and Maze,” Holmes said. “It’ll be a mix of him and others singing for him. It’ll be a real moment where you can say, ‘Here are your flowers.’”

This year, Holmes said, organizers are looking to celebrate milestones.

“Having Usher and Janet on the same bill. Such pioneers in their genre. What we’re ultimately seeing in this 30th year is a cultural and musical torch-passing. Having Victoria Mont on the same night as Janet. That’s what you’ll see in the night-by-night show. A timeline of acts that bring back memories, that speak to multiple generations and that give people what they want to see,” he said.

Source: job