Essence Music Festival
The Essence Music Festival is the nation’s largest annual gathering of African American musical talent, and has been going on annually for 18 years in New Orleans, bringing more than 400,000 people. The festival is a three-day event, which has cultural celebrations and empowerment seminars with nights of musical performances, and there are often awards given out honoring prominent musicians in the African American community. The festival is held every Fourth of July weekend, and has featured some of the biggest names in entertainment, including Prince, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Lionel Richie and others.
In 2007, presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton made special appearances at The Essence Music Festival, and in 2009 the festival was held in honor of Barack Obama’s inauguration and presidency, with Beyoncé as the headliner. In 2008, after partnering with Essence to develop and tape a co-branded special presentation Black in America: Reclaiming the Dream, CNN reported live on-site throughout the Music Festival weekend.
Read more about this topic: Essence (magazine)
Famous quotes containing the words essence, music and/or festival:
“The essence of being a genius is to be able to talk and listen to listen while talking and talk while listening but and this is very important very important indeed talking has nothing to do with creation.”
—Gertrude Stein (18741946)
“A woman drew her long black hair out tight
And fiddled whisper music on those strings
And bats with baby faces in the violet light
Whistled, and beat their wings
And crawled head downward down a blackened wall....”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“The surest guide to the correctness of the path that women take is joy in the struggle. Revolution is the festival of the oppressed.”
—Germaine Greer (b. 1939)