The Essence Music Festival has plenty to celebrate this year and it will be about a lot more than music, said Michelle Ebanks, president of Essence Communications Inc.

The festival, slated to run from July 3rd through the 5th, will include events marking the festival’s 15th anniversary and the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Billed as one of the nation’s largest annual events celebrating black music and culture, this year’s list of headliners will include Beyonce, John Legend, Al Green, Anita Baker, Robin Thicke and dozens of others. There will also be a tribute to Bishop T.D. Jakes, the Dallas pastor who gave an Inauguration Day sermon in Washington.

The format for this year’s festival will be the same as in years past: Ticketed musical performances are slated at night and free empowerment seminars will be held during the day.

“That’s the wonderful thing about Essence,” Ebanks said. “It’s not one particular genre of music. It’s a celebration of the music of our lives, of all the music that we know and love.”

The festival began in 1995 as a one-time celebration of the 25th anniversary of Essence magazine. Over the years, it has hosted performances by Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, LL Cool J, the Isley Brothers, Lionel Richie, Luther Vandross, Mary J. Blige, the O’Jays, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Toni Braxton and Patti LaBelle, among others.

An estimated 200,000 people attended the festival in 2007, the year it returned to New Orleans after being held in Houston in 2006 because the city was still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. The festival had one of its biggest turnouts last year with more than 270,000 attendees.

For more information you can visit the festival website, essencemusicfestival.com.

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