Essence Festival 2020: Last News

We may be in 2020, but there’s something about 90s music that just hits different. Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe, better known as BBD, hit the digital concert stage for week two of the ESSENCE Festival Of Culture Evening Concert Series and we’re still pumping our fists in the air remembering their exuberant performance.

ESSENCE’s Dear Black Men panel alongside Bevel founder, Tristan Walker, where he discussed the important of body hair grooming.

Hamilton first debuted on Broadway, it has been the hottest ticket in town – racking up award after award for it’s critically-lauded music, lyrics and storytelling. The hit hip-hop musical opened its door to sold out audiences in 2015 and five years later, the cast of Hamilton, which details the life of America’s founding father Alexander Hamilton, still remembers one specific day as their all-time favorite.Renée Elise Goldsberry, who plays Hamilton’s sister-in-law, gushed over the time she performed in front of Michelle Obama.“You just reminded us of one of the most special ever, which is the opportunity to perform for our President,” she candidly shared with ESSENCE Entertainment Director Cori Murray with a beaming smile.

Festival of Culture on Sunday afternoon. The annual Get Lifted Gospel Sunday Celebration featured inspirational words and performances by The Walls Group, Anita Wilson, Fred Hammond, Erica Campbell and The Clark Sisters.

Soul, to be released this fall. But on top of all of that melanated goodness, there’s a super Black team behind the lens as well bringing the story of a band teacher, who gets the opportunity of a lifetime, to life onscreen.During the ESSENCE Festival of Culture, the team behind Soul, including director Pete Docter, co-director and screenwriter Kemp Powers along with producer Dana Murray showcased a brand new speak peek of the forthcoming animated film.Soul tells the story of Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), a middle school band teacher who gets tapped to play at the best jazz club in town.