The 2012 Essence Music Festival lineup was announced this morning, and among the list of local artists is a name most people hadn’t heard before this past fall: Luke James. With the homepage WhoIsLukeJames.com and Twitter handle @WhoIsLukeJames, James knows fans are probably curious where he came from. But the St. Augustine grad (real name: [...]
Tag Archives: essence music festival
Blige Celebrates Essence with a New Fragrance
July 6, 2011 – 10:20 am
Lines stretched around the 300 block of Chartres Street on Saturday afternoon, July 2, as crowds gathered – serenaded by the Soul Rebels – outside of a pop-up Carol’s Daughter location in the French Quarter for a chance to meet the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige. Over the past four years, Blige has [...]
Essence: A Transforming Experience
July 1, 2011 – 11:25 am
The name has changed but the event’s the same. This year, the Essence Empowerment Seminars are known as the Essence Empowerment Experience, but the series of free talks, roundtables and interviews at the Morial Convention Center remain focused on helping African Americans, improve their lives. According to Patrik Henry Bass, Senior Editor of Essence, this [...]
YouTube du Jour: Mavis Staples and Mary J. Blige
July 1, 2011 – 10:06 am
In our new issue, Aaron Lafont talks to soul legend Mavis Staples. Tonight, she plays the Essence Music Festival at 9:15 in the Old School Superlounge with Irma Thomas. Here’s Staples singing the title track from her recent album, You Are Not Alone, accompanied on acoustic guitar by the album’s producer, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. Mary [...]
Essence Announces Its Night-by-Night Schedule
May 3, 2011 – 11:46 am
This year’s Essence Music Fest starts on Friday, July 1 with Ladies Night. Jennifer Hudson headlines a night that includes Fantasia, Macy Gray, Mavis Staples and Irma Thomas, along with Boyz II Men, Dwele, Alexander O’Neal and Cherelle, the Soul Rebels and Tank. The festival’s night-by-night talent roster for the main stage and superlounges was [...]
Mary J. Blige, Kanye West Headline Essence Festival
February 16, 2011 – 9:45 am
Mary J. Blige may be the Queen of the Essence Festival, returning as a headliner to the 2011 Essence Music Festival, which takes place in the Louisiana Superdome July 1-3. Kanye West caps a year of critical success for his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album with an appearance at Essence Fest as well, along [...]
Jackson’s Restrained, Blige’s in Charge at Essence
July 6, 2010 – 11:56 am
A few post-Essence observations: —Raphael Saadiq has explored his musical inheritance by restaging it. After The Way I See It, his shows relied heavily on the album and its Motown sound and vibe. I worried that staying in the ’60s mode might get old for him, but on the main stage in the Superdome, he [...]
Essence Music Festival, Friday 2010: Photo Gallery
July 6, 2010 – 11:45 am
The big news on Friday, the first night of the 2010 Essence Music Festival, was Janet Jackson’s only show of the year—and the extravaganza of S&M choreography that highlighted it. Friday’s schedule was chock full of top-notch performances though, including locals Little Freddie King, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Irma Thomas and Irvin Mayfield, plus Monica, [...]
Sneak Peak at the Essence Festival Main Stage
July 1, 2010 – 2:39 pm
[UPDATE] Friday night, the Essence Music Festival opens in the Louisiana Superdome. Janet Jackson in her only performance of the year, Alicia Keys and Mary J. Blige will headline the main stage each night, and that stage is an unusual construction by production designer Stefan Beese of RE:BE Design that is pretty dramatic when seen [...]
Essence Festival Day-By-Day Schedule Announced
May 6, 2010 – 11:28 am
The Essence Music Festival returns to the Louisiana Superdome July 2-4 with Janet Jackson headlining its opening night. Today Essence announced its night-by-night lineup, which is as follows: Friday, July 2: Main stage: Janet Jackson, Charlie Wilson, Raphael Saadiq, Monica. Superlounges: Chrisette Michele, Irma Thomas, Arrested Development, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Mary Mary, Irvin Mayfield [...]
