Bruno Mars, Patti LaBelle, John Legend and More Play Virtual Essence Festival

Bruno Mars plays the virtual Essence.

This year’s Essence Festival will join the ranks of virtual festivals and will feature performances and panels over two weekends.

The Essence Festival usually takes place on the July 4 weekend in the Superdome. This year though, COVID-19 has made that unwise so organizers have taken it online and stretched it out over two weekends, June 25-26 and July 2-5. The festival will feature performances, summits, panels, and Q&As by both local and national Black leaders on voting, entertainment, beauty, and more. 

The festival’s concerts will take place on the Saturday evenings of each weekend, June 27 and July 4, and will feature acts such as Bruno Mars, John Legend, Patti Labelle, Swizz Beatz, Estelle, Doug E Fresh, BBD, Nas, Andra Day, Master P, Tank and the Bangas, PJ Morton, and Raphael Saadiq. The concerts will go from 7 p.m.-10 p.m., and the festival’s schedule and lineup can be found on Essence’s website. 

Essence Festival has been a staple of New Orleans’ summer since 1995, though the 2006 edition moved to Houston after Hurricane Katrina. According to Essence, it brings nearly $300 million dollars yearly to the New Orleans economy, but this year’s festival will necessarily function differently. It will include, organizers say, a “benefit initiative to raise funds to support the critical needs and sustainability of Black and Brown entrepreneurs, micro and small businesses, and organizations focused on racial equity across the U.S.” as well as a #BlackVotesMatter365 voting hub dedicated to providing easy access to voting resources. This year will also be honoring 50 Essence Essential Heroes honorees who have done exceptional work during the pandemic. 

On June 25, Essence will also be launching Essence Unstoppable Collective, “a $100 million public-private-NGO partnership and equity and justice benefit initiative for sustained change.” It will raise money through the New Voices foundation, and will work to provide “resources for essential workers; entrepreneur training and other programs; job placement and readiness services; food security; mental health programs; tools addressing disparities in healthcare delivery; education access; organizations supporting racial equity and inclusion; and more.”