Janet Jackson and Bruno Mars will top the bill at this year’s 2020 Essence Music Festival taking place July 1-5 in New Orleans.
What We Know:
- On Tuesday, Essence announced the lineup for it’s 26th edition, with Bruno Mars making his first Essence Festival appearance and Janet Jackson returning for her third festival performance.
- Jackson’s performance at the festival this year will be in tandem with her newly announced Black Diamond World Tour. No word yet on when Janet Jackson’s album will drop, but the singer told Jimmy Fallon that she titled her 12th album after her own strength.
- Headliners on the mainstage at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome also include Ari Lennox, Janelle Monae, Patti LaBelle, Raphael Saadiq, and Summer Walker. Estelle will perform an Afrobeat and reggae set with Afro B, Chronnix, Elephant Man, Kranium, Max Glazer, Maxi Priest, Shenseea, and Swizz Beatz.
- Michelle E. Banks, CEO of Essence Communications Inc., said in a statement: “This is the milestone year for Essence and our community as we celebrate 50 years of creating opportunities for our culture to shine.”
- Banks said, “These two powerhouses, along with our robust slate of programming, the performances and tributes, will continue our legacy of cultural excellence…To Bruno, Janet and all our Essence Festival artists, we say, ‘Welcome Home.’”
- The festival is scheduled to run July 1-5 in New Orleans with a theme of “Own Our Power”. This will be a central focus for discussions, performances, and cultural experiences covering beauty, fashion, technology, film, wellness, entrepreneurship and advancing Black culture, among other areas.
- The Essence Festival usually brings more than 500,000 fans to the city during the three-night music portion. The festival will be hosted by Emmy winning comedian Loni Love.
Daily schedules have not been announced yet. Weekend ticket packages are on sale now and start at $180. For more information visit Essence.com/festival.
