ESSENCE Festival of Culture™
www.essencefestival.com | @essencefest
Made Like This
Attendees
Virtual and In-person Attendees
Impact
Economic Impact
Social
Followers
The ESSENCE Festival is the nation’s largest annual celebration of Black music and culture, featuring ESSENCE Empowerment Seminars and top-tier performances by legends like Prince, Beyoncé, and Diana Ross. Since 1995, it’s drawn over 400,000 attendees to New Orleans each July 4th weekend, adding $1 billion to Louisiana’s local economy. With appearances by leaders like Barack Obama, it remains an iconic hub for culture and connection.
More Than A Concert. 20+ All-Weekend Experiences.
ESSENCE Stage™ // ESSENCE Food & Wine Festival™ // ESSENCE Wellness House® // ESSENCE Hollywood House™ // ESSENCE Authors™ // ESSENCE House™ // ESSENCE Community Impact Hub™ // ESSENCE Evening Concert Series™ // ESSENCE FEST PRIMETIME™ // GU® Creators House // GU® Kickback // BEAUTYCON™: @ESSENCEFEST Edition // Suede: Men’s Experience™ // ESSENCE Film Festival® by ESSENCE STUDIOS™ // SOKO MRKT™ // New Voices Village™ // New Voices Entrepreneurs Hub™ // GBEF® HQ // AFROPUNK BLKTOPIA™
Leadership
Hakeem Holmes
VP, Essence Festival of Culture
Michael Barclay II
Executive VP-Experiential, Essence Ventures
Caroline Wanga
CEO, Essence Ventures
Related Brands
Join us in creating a bold new vision for the future.
Contact Us 
