Hotel bookings declined during the 2025 Essence Festival, signaling potential challenges for New Orleans’ tourism economy.

As criticism continues to roll in after Essence Fest, officials responded to the feedback Wednesday by offering a commitment to improve. Why it matters: The massive New Orleans-based festival is ...

The stage became a sanctuary for truth-telling and storytelling during the “Songs in the Key of Life: Navigating Identity and Dreams in Modern Fiction” panel at the 2025 ESSENCE Festival of Culture in ...

I vividly remember the very first National Fried Chicken Festival opening its gates in 2016 at a tiny park in New Orleans ...

ESSENCE Festival of Culture celebrated Black excellence through music, entrepreneurship, and community—while responding to calls for growth.

Free programming during the celebration in NOLA provided tools, support, and access to care for festivalgoers trying to live ...

Columnist Will Sutton answers the question he keeps getting asked since Essence Fest: "What do you think should be done?" ...

Haiti’s landmark Oloffson Hotel in Port-au-Prince, a favorite haunt of writers and artists, was burned to the ground its proprietor Richard Morse said. The attack by gangs took place Saturday, July 6, ...

Lauryn Hill and Stephanie Mills are slamming the narratives surrounding their performance delays during Essence Festival.

The Essence Festival was given a lot of comparisons to dumpster fires this year, and there's a surprising reason why.

The 2025 Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh features over 100 performers, including headliners My Morning Jacket, Earl Sweatshirt, and Sparks. Learn how to get tickets.

Instagram/@officialalbsure Another way the great Al B Sure has proven that he is a living legend. At the 2025 Essence Festival of Culture, the crowd was just losing its mind under the historic Quincy ...