Essence Festival in New Orleans

Essence Festival reigns as one of the largest African American music festivals in the United States. It's been going since way back in 1995 when it was instituted to honour the legacy of Essence magazine. These days, the shindig pulls in a regular 500,000 attendees each year. They come to enjoy all sorts of events, with a varied focus on music, lifestyle, fashion, and celebrity.

The festival takes place across the city of New Orleans. There are associated acts in smaller and intimate venues in areas like the French Quarter, but the main names take to the stage in the colossal Mercedes-Benz Superdome at the end of Poydras Street. There are also major talks and expos down in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center by the Mississippi.

Essence Festival in New Orleans - one of the highlights of 10 Best Festivals in New Orleans (Read all about New Orleans here)

photo by Infrogmation (CC BY-SA 3.0) modified

A brief history of the Essence Festival

The Essence Festival began in the mid-1990s. The initial show was a celebration of 25 years of Essence, a magazine with a focus on African-American culture and heritage. It saw the likes of Destiny's Child and Lionel Richie head up the acts.

Originally intended to be a one-off thing, the festival quickly gathered pace to start pulling in hundreds of thousands of attendees. It's been held in New Orleans every year since, apart from a short break in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

What are the highlights of the Essence Festival?

The music is unquestionably the number-one draw at the Essence Festival. From 6 pm onwards on every day of the event, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome hosts an eclectic line-up of artists across 2 types of stages. There's the main stage, which is reserved for the big-name A-listers. Then there are the Superlounge shows, where you can seek out rising stars in the industry in smaller, more intimate venues.

There is simply no predicting what iconic figures will be on future Essence Fest schedules. However, previous names have included the likes of Prince, Shaggy, Usher, Beyoncé and Alicia Keys. The mainstage has also hosted inspirational figures like Barack Obama for keynote speeches in between hip-hop and R&B.

Things don't stop for the daytime, either. From 9 am each morning, there are all sorts of happenings down at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. That's the main hub of the festival, and most of the events there are 100% free to enter. You'll find Caribbean cook-offs, intellectual debates, talks run by local activists and politicians, and a whole load more.

The Essence Festival also manages to spread throughout the whole of New Orleans. Affiliated bars and jazz joints will run their own programme of events. The action is mainly centred on the buzzy Warehouse District, but you'll also find shows in the famous French Quarter honky-tonks a little further north.

Good to know about the Essence Festival

Essence Festival takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana, usually on the Independence Day weekend of 4^th July. The main events in the day are hosted in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center at the eastern end of the Pontchartrain Expressway. The night events and music acts are hosted in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome near the I-10. It takes about 30 minutes to walk between those 2 venues through the lovely Warehouse District.

Entry to the workshops and talks in the daytime is usually free. However, it's always a good idea to buy tickets for the main evening acts as far in advance as you can. They're either sold as single-day tickets or as full weekend passes.

The Central Business District and Warehouse District are the best areas to base yourself for the Essence Festival. However, it's also possible to stay in the fun-filled French Quarter, which is under a mile-long walk to the northeast of the arena and convention centre.

Joseph Francis | Contributing Writer

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