Essence Festival

Essence Fest 2020 lineup (Janet Jackson, Janelle Monae, Patti LaBelle & more)

The annual Essence Festival returns July 1-5 to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans for its 2020 edition, and the fest has just revealed most of its lineup. Headliners this year are Janet Jackson and Bruno Mars, along with main stage performances from Janelle Monae, Ari Lennox, Patti LaBelle, Raphael Saadiq, Summer Walker and Swizz Beatz, along with a “Reggae x Afrobeats” set led by Estelle, and featuring Afro B, Chronixx, Elephant Man, Kranium, Max Glazer, Maxi Priest and Shenseea.

Elsewhere, other great acts will perform at the Superlounge, including Jidenna, Saweetie, Tamia, SIR, June’s Diary, Doug E.Fresh, Kiana Lede, Rapsody, Casmé, D Smoke, Demi Grace, Elah Hale, Goldlink, Jamesdavis, Kitty Cash, Leikeli47, Masego, Mr Eazi, Oswin Benjamin, Smino, Stokley, Tank and the Bangas, Teamarrr, The New Respects, Umi and more.

Tickets and passes are on sale now. Essence CEO Michelle Ebanks honored the 50th anniversary of the publication in a statement:

This is a milestone year for ESSENCE and our community as we celebrate 50 years of creating opportunities for our culture to shine and the role of Black women in making it possible for us to do what no other brand has done. To be able to say that at 50 years, we are Black-owned, diversified across media, technology, commerce and live events, and impacting our culture in new and even deeper ways than ever before is a blessing – and one that comes with a tremendous responsibility to our community to continue to evolve, innovate and transform. That remains our focus and commitment as we work to ensure that we are here serving Black women deeply and advancing Black culture, economic ownership and inclusion globally for the next 50 years.

Find out more at the festival’s official website.