Description:

In New Orleans, African-American culture is a predominant force in the community, particularly in terms of the arts and music. Essence Festival, held this year from July 2-5 in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, celebrates this vibrant culture with live music, speakers and other festival events featuring both local and national luminaries.

Main stage headliners for music and comedy performances include Charlie Wilson, Common, Erykah Badu, India.Arie, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Trey Songz, Kendrick Lamar, Kevin Hart and local favorite Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave. These performers will take to the main stage from Thursday through Sunday evenings and deliver unforgettable performances, as these headliners do each year. Supporting acts appear in various lounges set up throughout the Superdome, such as Mystikal, Mase, Dumpstaphunk and Doug E. Fresh in the Art of Hip-Hop Superlounge and Adrian Marcel, Andra Day and Esperanza Spalding in the Hot Right Now Superlounge, in addition to two other Superlounge areas.

Empowerment speakers are another cornerstone of this event with free sessions delivered by a wide range of local and national figures in the African-American community. Some of this year’s speakers include Al Sharpton, Deepak Chopra and Steve Harvey, among dozens of others, all of whom are split up between the Empowerment and Empower U stages.

The Essence DJ Day Party Series is another major event at the festival held each day from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and will feature celebrity DJs like DJ Cassidy, Funkmaster Flex, Spinderella, Biz Markie and DJ Drama in addition to special Essence Festival guests.

The 2015 Essence Festival has an astounding lineup of musical acts and empowerment speakers, so for a taste of African-American culture, present and future, don’t miss this year’s main event.