Chaka Khan And R&B Divas To Conclude 2012 ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL With Special Memorial Performance On Sunday, July 8th: Dynamic Ensemble To Grace Stage After Aretha Franklin's Headlining Performance

NEW YORK, June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Every year over 400,000 people from around the world descend upon New Orleans for the only music festival that offers not only scorching music performances and a party filled atmosphere, but also a full Empowerment Experience and four days of family friendly fun: the ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL.  This year, in its 18^th year of existence and bigger, better and with a more complete programming line up than ever, the 2012 ESSENCE Musical Festival will celebrate its 18^th anniversary this July 5^th, 6^th, 7^th and 8^th in historic New Orleans, LA, with the most lauded names in entertainment and the nation's most influential speakers, artists, authors, educators and leaders.

This year the Essence Music Festival will conclude their world class musical programming on Sunday, July 8^th, with a special, once in a lifetime ensemble comprised of Chaka Khan and the R&B Divas. Immediately following the legendary Aretha Franklin's headlining performance, Chaka will return for a sixty-minute encore performance with the R&B Divas, comprised of Faith Evans, Nicci Gilbert, Monifah Carter, Syleenah Johnson and Keke Wyatt. Together these powerful voices will pay tribute to the R&B artists who passed away over this past year.

This closing ensemble is the final addition to talent which already includes a stellar line-up featuring the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, Grammy-Award winning singer D'Angelo, as well as R&B heartthrob Trey Songz, Charlie Wilson, Mary Mary, Mary J. Blige, Fantasia, The Pointer Sisters, Ledisi and more. The official host each night will be Nephew Tommy, comedian and co-host of the long running Steve Harvey Morning Show.

Kicking off on the inaugural day of Thursday, July 5^th, the Festival, long known as a family friendly Festival, will celebrate a full day youth empowerment experience at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, culminating with the first ever youth empowerment concert on the New & Next stage that night at the Louisiana Superdome. Hosted by Wild Wayne and actress Rocsi Diaz, the New & Next stage will feature a roster of rising young stars including the newly added Roshon Fegan in addition to Kaitlyn Nichol, Coco Jones, recording artist and hip-hop royalty Diggy Simmons, R&B pop group The OMG Girlz and New Orleans' marching band The Roots of Music. These bright young stars are the first-ever generation of performers to represent the New & Next Stage and will be sure to dazzle on July 5th. Sponsored by Verizon, Wal-Mart and community partner Capital One, tickets for the New and Next Stage are available at essencemusicfestival.com.

Forever anchored in Empowerment and not just entertainment, the Essence Empowerment Experience brings together the leaders, innovators, activists, experts, artists, performers and thinkers who are defining the social and political discussions that matter most to attendees all under one roof at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The "Power of Our Voice" is the theme of this year's 18^th annual ESSENCE Music Festival and through this forum ESSENCE will celebrate the power of Family, Community and Spirit within a unique gathering that is free and open to the public. Inspirational speaker and New Thought spiritual teacher, Iyanla Vanzant, has been newly added to the line up which already includes Steve Harvey, Vanessa Williams, Reverend Al Sharpton, Soledad O'Brien, Alice Randall and Tamar Braxton, amongst many others.

Sponsored by Coca-Cola, My Black Is Beautiful, McDonald's, Wal-Mart, Verizon, Capital One and the Steve & Marjorie Harvey Foundation, the Youth Empowerment Experience will invite youth groups from the New Orleans area to participate in this year's two programs: the Saving our Sons mentoring initiative spearheaded by Mayor of New Orleans Mitch Landrieu and the Girl Up NOLA initiative led by First Lady Cheryl Landrieu. Saving Our Sons is a call to action for the community to invest in the lives of young men to prevent violence and stop the murder epidemic and high crime rate in New Orleans as well as every city across the nation. The program recruits and trains mentors to help over 100 young males and their needs through partnerships with community organizations.

Now in its 18th year, the ultimate destination for entertainment and inspiration hosted over 422,000 attendees last year. What began in 1995 as a one-time event to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of ESSENCE magazine has now grown into one of the country's "Top 10 Leading Brand Events" by Advertising Age.  The ESSENCE Music Festival is the nation's largest annual gathering of African-American music and culture.  Throughout its history, the Festival has featured an array of performers including Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Al Green, Beyonce, Chaka Khan, Destiny's Child, Earth, Wind & Fire, Gladys Knight, LL Cool J, Jamie Foxx, John Legend, The Isley Brothers, Lionel Richie, Luther Vandross, Maxwell, The O'Jays, Prince, Rihanna, Stevie Wonder, Toni Braxton, Patti LaBelle and Yolanda Adams, among others.

For information about ticket sales, accommodations and the latest news about the ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL, visit ESSENCE Music Festival www.essencemusicfestival.com Join the Festival community: follow us on Twitter @essencemusic #EssenceFest and become a fan of 2012 ESSENCE Music Festival on Facebook.

The 2012 ESSENCE Music Festival, in partnership with QuintEvents, has created "ESSENCE VIP Events" to offer fans the ultimate in "insider access", with exclusive VIP ticket, travel and hospitality party venue packages. The Official packages are available now at the Official website, www.EssenceVIPEvents.com.

The presenting sponsor for the 2012 ESSENCE Music Festival is Coca-Cola.  Major sponsors include Coors Light, Wal-Mart, McDonald's, Ford, My Black is Beautiful, U.S. Army and Verizon. Official Sponsors are CNN, State Farm, TV-One and Visa Pre-Paid. Superlounge sponsors are Coca-Cola, Ford, McDonald's and Verizon Wireless.

The 2012 ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL is executive produced by Essence Festivals LLC, a division of Essence Communications Inc. (ECI).  GeChar is the executive producer of the 2012 ESSENCE Empowerment Experience.

ABOUT ESSENCE COMMUNICATIONS INC.:

Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) is the number one media company dedicated to African-American women, with a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events, and online.  The company's flagship publication, ESSENCE magazine, is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women; generating brand extensions such as the Essence Music Festival, ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood and Black Women in Music, Window on Our Women and Smart Beauty consumer insights series, the Essence Book Club, Essence.com, and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD). For 42 years, ESSENCE, which has a brand reach of over 8 million, has been the leading source of cutting-edge information and specific solutions relating to every area of African-American women's lives.  Additional information about ECI and ESSENCE is available at www.essence.com.

SOURCE ESSENCE Magazine