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The Essence Music Festival
BGrammy Award
winners Lauryn Hill
and Patti Laßelle to
appear at Coca-Cola
Presents the Es
sence Music Festival
in New Orleans
during the 4% of
July weekend.
NEW YORK
Lauryn Hill, R. Kelly,
Erykah Badu, Brian
McKnight, Monica, Deborah
Cox, Dru Hill, Will Downing
and Gerald Albright, The
Temptations, Patti Laßelle
and Maze featuring Frankie
Beverly, will headline the
three evening concerts as part
ofthe 1999 Coca-Cola presents
The Essence Music Festival,
tobeheld July 2,3 and 4 at the
Louisiana Superdome in New
Orleans.
The Festival, now in its fifth
year, presents three one-of-a
kind evening concerts in the
Superdome, featuring simul
taneous musical programming
on five stages—one main stage
in the arena and four stages in
the superlounge areas, rooms
in the Superdome that the
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Festival transforms into inti
mate nightclub settings.
The Festival’s main-stage
performers will include Patti
Laßelle, Lauryn Hill, The
Temptations and Monica (Fri
day, July 2); R. Kelly, Erykah
Badu, Brian McKnight and
AUGUSTA FOCUS JUNE 24, 1999
Star Quality: (top left) Erykah
Badu; (above) R. Kelly; (Left)
Lauryn Hill.
Deborah Cox (Saturday, July
3); and Maze featuring Frankie
Beverly, Dru Hill, a surprise
artist tobe announced and Will
Downing and Gerald Albright
(Sunday, July 4).
Performers in the
superlounges will include
Bobby Blue Bland, The Ohio
Players, Third World (July 2);
Average White Band,
Jonathan Butler, The Spin
ners(July3); The S.o.S.Band,
Etta James, Miriam Makeba
(July 4 and many otherstobe
announced in coming weeks.
Debra Lungford, vice presi
dent and general manager of
96.9 The Touch
presents
Magic Mornings
Monday - Friday
6am.-10 a.m.
~ - awith
Tom Joyner
&
Mechelle Jordan
Essence Entertainment, says
“This year’s Coca-Cola Pre
sents The Essence Music Fes
tival celebrates the finest of
every music genre, R&B, jazz,
classic soul, hip hop, world
music and the blues, with in
ternational multiplatinum,
Grammy Award-winning su
perstar talent. Only Essence
could bring together the leg
ends, the divas, the crooners
and the new stars of the music
world. On the eve of the mil
lennium, our Festival will
bring to New Orleans an ex
traordinary event for all mu
sic lovers and will close the
millennium as the best musi
cal party of the twentieth cen
tury.”
Lauryn Hill, who was fea
tured on the June 1998 cover of
Essence magazine, has gar
nered worldwide fame and is
the recipient of five Grammy
awards, including Best New
Artist and Album of the Year.
ThelegendaryPattiLaßellehas
wooed the Festival’s audience
since its inception, is the win
nerofthe 1999 Grammy award
for Best Traditional R&B Vocal
Performance and the recipient
of a 1999 Rhythm & Blues
1 26
Foundation’s Tenth Annual
Pioneer Award.
The Festival’s popular series
of empowerment seminars will
be held at the Ernest N. Morial
Convention Center, alsoonJuly
2,3, and 4. The seminars will
offer new topics in the form of
lectures and roundtable discus
sions by many dynamic Afri
can-American leaders and in
tellectuals. Convention Center
activities also feature a major
crafts fair, a variety of down
home cuisine and a book fair
with author signings.
Tickets for the 1999 Coca-
Cola Presents the Essence
Music Festival are on sale now
and are priced at $25, $35, $45,
SSO and $55 for each evening
concert. To order tickets, call
TicketMasterat(Boo)4Bß-5252.
In New Orleans, call (504) 522-
5555, and in Baton Rouge, call
(225) 761-8400. Travel pack
ages are available by calling
Destination Management, Inc.,
at (800) 762-9523. For addi
tional information on Coca-Cola
Presents the Essence Music
Festival, see current and fu
ture issues of Essence maga
zine or visit the Essence web
site at www.essence.com.
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