Our typically visual coverage of Essence Festival. Charlie Wilson, Mia Borders, Trey Songz, Deep Cotton, Janelle Monae, Big Daddy Kane, Solange, the Brassaholics, Gina Brown…
Our top picks:
Visual: Janelle Monae.
Music: Charlie Wilson blew the place away. Runners up: Deep Cotton and Mia Borders!
No Beyonce, of course, because her vendetta against photographers continues–not only were no photos allowed (aside from the thousands of iPads and iPhones in the audience) from the pit, but there was a large black shield erected that obscured the view of the stage from the side, further preventing archival goodness. Whatever. Her show was delayed, apparently because of some technical glitches with her huge stage production, but it was everything you’d expect from Beyonce–huge, bright, and loud, with amazing dancers. We caught it from the rear, but have nothing to offer you if you missed it!
See you next year in New Orleans!