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Michelle Obama will open the Essence Festival of Culture’s popular concert series this summer with a live conversation related to her book, organizers announced this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Festival leaders gathered Tuesday morning at the\u00a0Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to share their “evolving vision” for event that brings thousands to downtown New Orleans each year over the Fourth of July weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Concert acts at the Caesars Superdome include musical celebrities Cardi B, Kehlani, Latto, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Patti Labelle and Brandy & Monica.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The scheduling is tighter than years past,\u00a0festival CEO Richelieu Dennis said. Last year’s event drew complaints after Lauryn Hill’s set ended<\/a> just after 3:30 a.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n \u201cWe said we are gonna make it a tighter one this year so you don\u2019t have to worry about going over too late,” Dennis said. “I think we’ve got a really right lineup but a really tight run of show, which we think was important.”<\/p>\n But leaders focused Tuesday’s press conference on the other experiences the festival is trying to grow.\u00a0<\/p>\n Michelle Obama will kick off the Evening Concert Series on July 3 with a live conversation related to her book, “The Look”<\/a> about her personal style evolution.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n “We are extremely, extremely grateful to have the opportunity to share her with this incredible community,” festival CEO\u00a0Richelieu Dennis said. Obama’s talk will be called, “IMO: The Look” in partnership with her podcast series called Higher Ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n “For Black women especially, ‘the look’ has never simply been about beauty or presentation \u2014 it has often been tied to respectability, survival, aspiration, and self-definition,” Essence magazine said in its online announcement<\/a>. “Obama, whose image has been endlessly dissected since entering public life, occupies a unique place within that larger conversation about visibility and perception.”<\/p>\n Michelle Obama has previously given talks at Essence Fest, but this year, her move to the mainstage concert series signals a shift away from music and toward “voices shaping the culture,” the festival said in a news release.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Essence has been expanding events that allow for “political dialogue, wellness, entrepreneurship, spirituality, and cultural criticism.” The event boasts over 20 experiences that include vendor expos, a film festival, book festival and a food and wine festival.\u00a0The film festival has received 630 submissions, Dennis said, and the book festival will award five book deals.<\/p>\n New this year will be a Creator & Podcast Festival, which will allow festival attendees the opportunity to pitch original podcast concepts live on stage. Five finalists, judged by a celebrity panel and audience members, will receive production support and a full launch marketing package.<\/p>\n “While many of today’s largest podcast networks skew heavily toward male-driven comedy and hip-hop programming, Essence is creating a scaled destination centered on the Black women audience,” the festival’s press release said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n