New-Orleans was the place to be on 4th of July week-end! Indeed, Essence magazine threw its 15th festival for the Independence Day week-end. Essence Music Festival is an annual event celebrating African-American culture and music, said to be the largest in the United-States. This year, women were honored since prestigious artists such as Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, and Janet Jackson hit the stage.
Janet, who hasn’t been performing a lot lately, opened the show on Friday, July 2nd and ran through her many hits. “Together Again” was the emotional moment of her set since it featured a photo montage of her late brother Michael. On Saturday, pregnant Alicia Keys blessed the audience with one of her last performance before she takes maternity leave to prepare for the birth of her first child. While she was performing “Love Is Blind,” the singer stumbled and fell on stage. Fortunately, Alicia and the baby are safe and sound, the singer didn’t even missed one note of the song! Mary J. closed the show and her set was said to be the highlight of the festival. The queen of hip-hop soul brought out male guests on stage to please the female audience; rapper T.I and Trey Songz, with whom she performed “We Got Hood Love.”
Other artists such as Jill Scott, Keri Hilson, Raphael Saadiq, but also legends Earth, Wind & Fire and Gladys Knight performed on the main stage. Keri Hilson obviously enjoyed the experience and expressed her excitement on Twitter (@misskeribaby): “Ahhhh New Orleans…I’m kinda sad to leave you & all your culture, your flavorful food, southern niceness, & beautiful crowds of blackness!!” Estelle, Laura Izibor, Chrisette Michelle, Joe and many others also performed at the Essence Music Festival’s lounges. The event was the occasion for Canadian artist Melanie Fiona to celebrate her birthday: “For my birthday, I’d like FIREWORKS,” she said on Twitter (@melaniefiona), “So excited to perform at the Essence Music Festival on Independence Day.”
In a nutshell, this was a busy week-end for soul-RnB music lovers. But if you missed the Essence Music Festival, you can check out the photo gallery on their official website and maybe book your tickets for next year!
Written by Liv
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