Daytime Experience
Day 2 was twice as fun with lots in store for music fans and concert-goers! Starting with the Daytime Experience at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, McDonald’s had a performance and meet & greet with New Orleans native and singer-songwriter Luke James.
At the Coca-Cola Main Booth, the crowd was in for a treat. Coca-Cola and ESSENCE announced the sixth season of their series, If Not For My Girls. This season’s cast comprises Bronx rapper Lady London, Grammy-nominated Amber Riley, and country singer-songwriter Reyna Roberts. They talked about the power of sisterhood in music, media & culture. Later in the day, thousands gathered at Coca-Cola’s Main Booth to see platinum recording artist Keyshia Cole perform!
At AT&T’s Dream in Black Stage, there was a connecting through culture panel with Cari Champion, Affion Crockett, and Kev on Stage where they discussed the current division in hip-hop. From Jay-Z vs Nas to Biggie vs Tupac to the current beef with Drake and Kendrick or as Affion said, “Drake vs Los Angeles.” Crockett made the point that hip-hop needs to grow up and we shouldn’t have any beef in any aspect whereas Kev said he wants the beef but with no violence, which I can agree with! The best part was that it was a genuine conversation although their opinions differed!
Evening Concert Series
Essence alerted everyone — shared on their socials, sent an email blast and push notifications from their app — that R&B supergroup TGT (Tank, Ginuwine, and Tyrese) would be taking the stage at 7 PM sharp!
D-Nice got us through the pandemic with his Club Quartatine, a celebration of music, community, and love! He brought Club Quarantine to the Essence Main Stage with live performances by Sheila E., Big Boi, Donell Jones, Tweet, Lloyd, and Machel Montano. The crowd was also surprised by a Method Man performance!
Next, everyone boarded the party train as Charlie Wilson took the stage! This was my third time seeing “Uncle Charlie” live in the last six years and although his set hasn’t changed much, it’s still just as electric and fun! With dancers and a full band, the former lead vocalist of the Gap Band lit up the Superdome with performances of “Yearning for Your Love,” “You Dropped a Bomb,” “There Goes My Baby,” and my personal favorite, “Charlie, Last Name Wilson.”
Essence Festival Vice President and New Orleans Native, Hakeem Holmes shared the story behind the cover of Essence Magazine’s July/August issue – a love letter to the City of New Orleans. He also welcomed the cover stars on the stage before Flagboy Giz and the Wild Tchoupitoulas Tribe performed the recent city anthem, “We Outside!”
Closing out night two of the Evening Concert Series was Grammy Award winner and recent Super Bowl halftime show performer, Usher! 2024 marks twenty years since the release of his fourth studio album, Confessions, which is undoubtedly one of his most popular releases! In fact, in 20202 it was ranked 432 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time! Fans were able to celebrate by purchasing ‘Confessions 20’ merch on the 200-level of Caesar’s Superdome. As promised, this was a one-of-a-kind performance as Usher spent over an hour performing every track from the timeless 2004 album while rocking his infamous U-chain. Although vastly different from the setlist of his My Way Residency setlist, there were some aspects from his Las Vegas shows including dancers and acrobatics! He surprised two lucky sections, one in the 100-level and another 300-level, with tickets to his upcoming Past, Present, Future Tour!
NOLA Concerts 