New Orleans Captures Music's 'Essence'
Monday, July 7, 2008
Dan Sugarman

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New Orleans might be America’s traditional party capital, but nearly three years after Hurricane Katrina devastated large chunks of infrastructure and uprooted countless residents, the city is still in the midst of a long and difficult rebuilding process. And so it was with a nod to both the feel-good history of New Orleans and its current struggles that thousands of festival-goers descended upon New Orleans this Fourth of July weekend for the fourteenth annual Essence Music Festival.

While the Essence team brought some of the biggest African-American names in music into New Orleans to perform, no less of a feat is the shot-in-the-arm that they brought to the local economy. While there is no official estimate at this point, the festival is expected to have infused about $125 mil. into New Orleans’ hotel, restaurant and transportation industry, similar to last year’s total, according to Essence president Michelle Ebanks.

While the festival boasted an impressive array of artists—including international pop sensation Rihanna, hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash and New Orleans’ own Preservation Hall Jazz Band—it also featured a number of empowerment seminars that Ebanks believes are "just as important to the success of event as the music itself.” The days' events included homages to New Orleans’ native son Tyler Perry as well as African-American community leaders speaking to some of the challenges being faced by the African-American community at this moment. Dr. Bill Cosby, Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint and Reverand Al Sharpton also led discussions about pertinent societal issues, including the death of Sean Bell.

The festival has already drawn world-wide attention to key African-American issues, as does the magazine, but Ebanks still sees definite room for the growth in the festival's future. This year the digital reach by streaming musical performances on its website, a project that they plan to continue in the future along with providing other exclusive digital content. Essence also got a jump start on promoting next year’s festival by announcing Beyoncé Knowles as the headliner. Ebanks also mentioned the possibility of expanding this “family reunion” to other cities in the future.

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