R&B superstar Usher will be part of the evening concert lineup for this summer’s Essence Festival of Culture’s 30th anniversary.
Organizers announced late Thursday that Usher, a no stranger to the event, will perform at this year’s festival, which runs July 4 to 7 at various venues in New Orleans. As the festival marks its 30th anniversary, Usher is also celebrating the 20th anniversary of his career-launching 2004 album, “Confessions.”
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“The evening concert series at Caesars Superdome will celebrate the festival’s journey, rooted in tradition and evolution, tracing its rich history to the present day,” the festival said in a news release.
Usher performed at Power 105.1s Powerhouse 2016 at the Barclays Center in New York City on October 27, 2016. He has been added to the lineup for the Essence Festival of Culture, which runs from July 4 to 7 in New Orleans. (Scott Ross/InVision/AP)
Usher first performed at Essence in 1998 and has returned to the festival many times since.
Janet Jackson, Victoria Monette, Birdman & Friends and festival veteran Charlie Wilson will also perform. The four-day event will culminate with the return of a whites-only party and a special tribute to Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, organized by producer and songwriter Bryan Michael Cox, organizers said.
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In addition to nightly concerts inside the Superdome, the festival will feature networking, finance, career, health, fashion and beauty programming at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and other venues around the city.
The festival, which began in 1995 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Essence magazine, has grown to become the world’s largest celebration of black women, culture and the black community, drawing more than 530,000 people to New Orleans each Fourth of July weekend, according to Essence Communications.
