For decades, Michelle Obama and ESSENCE have existed in conversation with one another—through magazine covers, keynote interviews, and cultural moments that stretched far beyond politics and into the ...

The 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture is turning up the volume in New Orleans. The festival, presented by Coca-Cola, has released its night-by-night Evening Concert Series lineup for July 3-5 at the ...

As the 2025 ESSENCE Festival of Culture comes to a close, the third and final day of Beautycon is a test on all the beauty lessons we’ve learned so far. First, Delina Medhin’s It Takes A Village ...

Tens of thousands of people are expected to flock to New Orleans this weekend to bask in the glory of Black excellence. The crowd — mostly women — will hear Michelle Obama speak and watch performances ...

ESSENCE Festival of Culture Presented by Coca-Cola is stacking its 2026 daytime lineup with a major mix of star power, culture, business, wellness, beauty and entertainment. The festival’s free ...

(L-R) Deja Vu, Tarriona 'Tank' Ball, Jada Young and Shannon Smith speak onstage during the ESSENCE Festival of Culture presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, ...

While the event is technically called the Essence Festival of Culture, one of its biggest draws is the nightly concert featuring some of the biggest names in Black music. But at the 2025 Essence Fest ...

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JULY 3: LaToya Cantrell, Mayor of New Orleans, speaks onstage during the 2025 ESSENCE Festival of Culture Press Welcome Event and Immersion presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N.

Fans attend the ESSENCE Festival of Culture at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The internet, never one to wait for context, responded with swift certainty, and social feeds lit up with ...

For the Essence Festival of Culture’s producers, social media criticism is part of the job — and not necessarily a bad thing. “It’s an honor and a blessing to have something you’re working on have ...