In 1995, Essence Communications Inc. threw a three-day bash in New Orleans for the 25th anniversary of its magazine. Thousands showed up for arguably the largest party ever showcasing black musical talent and culture. Seventeen years later, it has evolved into the annual Essence Music Festival, a powerful economic engine and pilgrimage point for a tourism-driven city still rebounding from Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf oil spill.
The festival, held annually over the Fourth of July weekend, opens Friday with daily free activities inside the New Orleans convention center and ticketed concerts at the Louisiana Superdome each night through the festival’s close on Sunday. Headliners this year include Usher, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Chaka Khan, Kanye West, Jill Scott, New Edition and Fantasia — a lineup designed to celebrate the roots of rhythm and blues.
Once again, a city hit hard by Katrina’s floodwaters in 2005 and last year’s oil massive spill off the Louisiana coast, is bustling with those who make New Orleans a yearly pilgrimage or reunion point for the Essence festival.
“This event has basically kept the city afloat every summer,” said Toni Rice, president of the New Orleans Multicultural Tourism Network. “You could ask any hotel or restaurant manager in the city and they would tell you that if it were not for Essence, their doors would be closed.
Citywide, hotels are booked at nearly 100 percent capacity both Friday and Saturday night, Rice said.
“The economic impact is huge,” she said. “We are happy to have it and know that other cities would love to get their hands on it. But we are a good fit and if I have anything to say about it, we’re not going to let it go.”
After Hurricane Katrina, the 2006 festival moved to Houston while the Superdome and convention center underwent major renovations to repair the storm damage. The event promptly returned to New Orleans in 2007, heartily welcomed back. City officials have said the festival will remain in New Orleans at least through 2014.
Once again, there’s more than just music.
