Coca-Cola’s Booth
It’s the 30th year of Coca-Cola being the presenting sponsor of the ESSENCE Festival of Culture! And like previous years, their activation is the place to be during the day at the Morial Convention Center. Attendees were able to watch performances by artists including Lay Bankz, Mariah the Scientist, Lloyd, and the OMG Girlz! My TikTok comments were filled with disbelief that we got to see sets by these artists for FREE!
It’s also the seventh season of Essence and Coca-Cola’s series, If Not For My Girls. This season includes Reginae Carter and the OMG Girlz, who had a conversation at Coca-Cola’s activation! Other things you missed at their booth included double dutching, morning workouts, free tote bags, and personalized bag charms!
ESSENCE Stage
The main stage at the Convention Center, also known as the Essence Stage, had a star-studded lineup throughout the weekend. Bringing the vibes all weekend in between speakers and panels was New Orleans’ own DJ PJ! On Friday, local business mogul and cultural icon Master P shared insights on the lessons that helped shape his journey. Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles also took the stage with producer Shari Nycole on Friday to discuss the culture, the business of the sport, and her book. On Saturday, Ambré, Eric Bellinger, and Momo had a conversation about ‘The Essence of Artistry’ with local influencer Kortlynn Janaé, moderating. On Sunday, attendees got to sit and listen in on a live taping of Keke Palmer’s Wondery podcast, Baby This is Keke Palmer with Kandi Burruss.
Return of the Super Lounges
For the first time since 2019, Essence Festival brought back the Super Lounges – but with a twist. A main stage superlounge featured performances by Coco Jones, Donell Jones, and Lucky Daye throughout the weekend. Any and all ticket holder could watch those from their assigned seat. But upstairs in the 200-level, tucked away in a very hard-to-find area, was a VVIP superlounge with up-close and personal performances by Leon Thomas, Ari Lennox, Stephanie Mills, and Alex Isley. Attendees had to pay around $500 per day for access to the exclusive VVIP super lounges. It included food, open bar, and more! Yes, there are still some kinks Essence needs to work out, but the new lounges were an elevated experience.
Interactive Polls and Trivia
Something I hope to see more of in the future is the interactive polls and games throughout the evening concert series. Fans were able to scan a QR code that was displayed on the screen and submit their answer to questions like “what’s your favorite version of Maxwell?” or “what artist has Babyface not worked with?” It was a fun way to stay entertained in between sets, plus a great conversation starter when sitting next to random people!
Surprise Guests
You never know who will show up at Essence Fest! L’Oreal brought out Ellie the Elephant, the mascot for the New York Liberty of the WNBA, on Friday night. From our for you page to the main stage, Ellie brought her energetic dance moves! On Saturday, 803Fresh surprised the crowd with a mainstage super lounge set which included his viral line dance hit, “Boots On the Ground!” After hearing the song at least three times a day every single day inside the Convention Center, it felt fitting to have him pop out!
The Pop-Ups
There was so much to do! Here’s just a list of a few pop-ups happening in the city!
- Loretta’s Pralines partnered with Shea Moisture for a Sheaversity takeover on Saturday, July 5th. The first 1,000 people got a Sheaversity Caf Combo, which included 2 iconic Loretta’s beignets and an Arnold Palmer, plus a free SheaMoisture product sample!
- JORDAN x DTLR pop-up on Canal St!
- Cheribé hosted creators and influencers at Cafe Cheribé, which previewed what to expect at Chateau Cheribé – their booth located inside the Convention Center.
- Kensington Grey and Essence Girls United hosted an invite-only creator mixer on Saturday. It was a great networking opportunity, plus attendees got to hear from J.C. Carter, Scot Louie, and Justine’s Camera Roll!
New Orleans Love
It’s no secret that New Orleans and the ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola® have a deep connection. This was the 31st year of hosting in the city, and there was no shortage of love from either side. On Friday, Maxwell opened his set with a band performing ReBirth Brass Band’s “Let’s Go Get ‘Em” accompanied by visuals of NOLA displayed on the screen throughout his set! Also on Friday, New Orleans artist had everyone ‘trippin out’ as he T99zy performed at the GU Kickback! Nas opened his set on Sunday with a secondline band. And of course, the Master P headlining on Sunday – he took his final bow with a No Limit performance!
Sign Language Interpreters
The ASL interpreters stole the show each night at the Superdome during the ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola.®
Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola®. Unlike previous years, they displayed a split screen so it was the artists on one side and the interpreters on the other! Erykah Badu stopped her set to have everyone stop at watch how the ASL interpreter interrupted her words and the brand’s sounds! Also, actor and comedian Andy Anderson popped on the screen with the interpreters multiple times throughout the weekend!
Essence GU Kickback
The Girls United Kickback returned! In recent years, the festival has included programming that attracts younger audiences. In previous years, the kickback has been at the Sugar Mill, which was convenient if you were already at the Convention Center. This year, the Kickback moved to the Fillmore. Personally, would have loved it to be at The Sugar Mill or Republic for convenience, but it was fun nonetheless with performances by Chxrry, Moliy, KenTheMan, and T99zy.
I wish there were more things to do and ways to interact with Essence while waiting for the artists to take the stage, but the DJ kept the vibes and energy high. Hopefully, next year there will be photo ops, sponsor activations, and more!
The Stacked Lineup
Despite the negative takes on social media, the 2025 ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola® had a stacked lineup with performances by Erykah Badu, GloRilla, Maxwell, Babyface, Lauryn Hill, Boyz II Men, Davido, Nas, and more!
In the future, Essence Fest may need to pivot to either having two stages or splitting the main stage in half, similar to the style of award shows. That way, as soon as one set finishes, another can start immediately. That will help to stop running the evening concerts into 2 AM in the morning, plus they can even have more performers!
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