These are the highs and joys we witnessed at Essence Fest 2025

As the Essence Festival of Culture continues to evolve, it continues to be an uplifting space for Black women, showcasing talent like Keke Palmer, Patti LaBelle, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Jordan Chiles, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and more.

The Essence Festival of Culture returned to New Orleans once again over the July 4th weekend, bringing a lively display and celebration of Blackness and Black womanhood. While many attendees were living it up, your social media feed may have made it hard to see some of that joy if you were only online.

Since the festival kicked off officially on Friday, July 4 (and even before), there has been growing discourse about whether it’s time for an Essence Fest refresh. Some hiccups, including a late start to the concert series’ first night, misconceptions about VIP and influencer events, such as the Superlounge, for which the festival has since apologized, and attendance issues, have clouded the conversation. 

“It’s an honor and a blessing to have something you’re working on have that much emotional impact,” Michael Barclay II, chief events officer for Essence Fest parent company Sundial Media Group, told Nola.com as the weekend unfolded. “I remind my team that even the negative shows you how impactful you are. What we’re building is that important to people that they’re going to air us out if we get it wrong.”

He added, “But they will come back when we get it right.”

TheGrio was on the ground for this year’s Essence Festival of Culture, which was spawned from a special 25th-anniversary celebration of the magazine in 1995. It lasted from July 4th through July 6th with free daytime programming and brand activations at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and a ticketed concert series in the evening at the Caesars Superdome. Headliners included Babyface, Maxwell, the Isley Brothers, and Lauryn Hill on Friday; Erykah Badu, Buju Banton, Donell Jones, Jill Scott, and Patti LaBelle on Saturday; and, Jermaine Dupri, Nas, Boyz II Men, and a special “Waiting to Exhale” tribute starring Keke Palmer on Sunday. 

Several exclusive events tied to the festival, hosted by major brands, were peppered throughout the city. Overall, the atmosphere and energy on the ground throughout the weekend were celebratory, vibrant, and positive.  

Throngs of Black women of all ages and creeds clamored by the thousands each day in the convention center. From groups of revelers line dancing any time “Boots on the Ground” was played to the many different DJ sets, to the friendliness shared by most people, attendees were in high spirits. 

Festival goers enjoyed a wide variety of panels hosted by some of Black culture’s most prominent figures, including Real Housewives, beauty gurus, politicians, Olympians, CEOs, musicians, cultural commentators, and more. Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton, the First Family of Maryland, and the Mayor of Baltimore were among the dignitaries seen gliding through the crowds and leading panels over the weekend. 

Activations hosted by major brands, including Disney, Coca-Cola, Target, Mielle, were mini parties within the party, complete with full DJ sets, photo ops, meet and greet opportunities with founders, and giveaways. Target’s presence this year drew critique in light of a larger Black community-wide boycott of the brand led by Pastor Jamal Bryant. ESSENCE confirmed via social media that they had a multi-year deal with Target, which was signed before the start of the boycott. Activists like Tamika D. Mallory respectfully asked ESSENCE Festival attendees to enjoy the festival but refrain from visiting the brand’s activations.

Essence Ventures founder Richelieu Dennis told Nola.com that real-time data collected during the festival showed that despite hiccups with some of the scheduled daytime events, including the film festival, attendees were “more engaged and more satisfied” with the daytime offerings this year.

Since the festival began, Dennis said it has grown nearly twice its size and now sprawls throughout one of the largest convention centers in the country. He also admitted that it is changing with the times, as is the way of major festivals that last for generations. 

“We’ve grown this festival almost twice its size,” he said. “With that growth comes a lot of changes, challenges….”

As Essence Fest reaches its third decade, it’s also come to a crossroads where organizers are attempting to honor the Gen X and Baby Boomers who have returned year after year while also engaging the younger generations. 

That goal of affirming the next generation especially came through during professional gymnast Jordan Chiles’ panel, Friday afternoon, when Chiles admitted to the crowd that she hadn’t stopped to consider if she was proud of herself. By the end of her panel, the two-time Olympian relented and gave herself some well-earned props at the crowd’s behest. 

Later on, as “Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum Kandi Burruss was giving a talk on money and career on Saturday, the crowd affirmed they would love a book project out of the multi-hyphenate on topics she knows best: sex and money. Before that chat, she hadn’t really considered writing a book. Meanwhile, Luvvie, who gave a book talk and did a signing, gushed about her warm reception throughout the weekend. During Saturday night’s concert, Jill Scott took a moment, quite literally, to give Patti LaBelle her flowers. Brands that started by hawking their goods outside of the contention center now have booths within.

Even as Friday’s concert ran behind schedule, pushing Lauryn Hill’s performance to 2:30 a.m. local time, those who saw her show, which included her hits and interludes by her sons, said it was well worth the wait.

Though the lines for certain sections and activations may have been long, smiles among strangers quickly sparked conversations. That easy approachable vibe carried itself throughout the city. Whether you were on Bourbon Street collecting beads or over on Frenchmen Street taking in jazz music, the spirit of Essence Fest was flowing throughout. Folks would cheer and connect as band frontmen would shout out the festival. As attendees hung out in hotel lobby bars, they became fast friends, swapping stories of their days. 

Bellhops, Uber drivers, bartenders, and more didn’t hold back in expressing their excitement for the Essence Fest crowd. They would rave about previous years with a palpable (and deserved) level of pride in their voices. 

While several longtime attendees remarked they were used to larger crowds and a busier New Orleans overall, it is worth noting that this year’s festival arrived during a bizarre time. The months leading up to the festival have been marked by mass layoffs (particularly for Black women), financial uncertainty, brands scaling back DEI efforts, unprecedented aviation accidents, and the looming legacy of a New Year’s Eve terrorist attack on the French Quarter.

While it was clear, even from organizers themselves, that the world has changed as the festival approaches its 30s and continues to expand, it’s also clear that it’s still a forum worthy and celebratory of Black women.