Source: Courtesy / SOAW
Mary J. Blige and Pepsi are announcing the second annual Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on May 11-14.
This year, fans are in for a treat, too!
The exciting festival and event that’s in partnership with Live Nation Urban will kick off with a special live performance from Grammy Award-winning pianist Robert Glasper. Blige will also hit the stage alongside a star-studded list of R&B titans including Summer Walker, Lucky Daye, Muni Long, and the legendary Lauryn Hill. Additionally, the event will include a #HipHop50 tribute hosted by Kenny Burns.
According to Variety, Blige will perform a few rare hits during the honorable segment.
The festival will close out on Sunday night with a “Purpose Ball” aimed at celebrating the musical contributions of the LGBTQIA+ community and their impact on the entertainment industry. Rapper Saucy Santana will rev up the heat onstage during the exciting event.
In between the jam-packed festival, attendees will also be able to join a number of panels centered on a variety of different topics ranging from music and wellness to beauty and financial literacy.
Blige took to Instagram on March 8 to share the big news with fans.
Blige Hopes To Further Empower Women In The BIPOC Community To Dream Big
In 2022, the “No More Drama” hitmaker launched the first festival, hoping to empower young women of color to dream big and to uplift the BIPOC community.
“I’m so excited to bring our Strength of a Woman Festival & Summit back to Atlanta for its second year,” said Blige in a statement per a press release.
“Having the opportunity to continue to uplift, inspire, and build amongst a community of women is the reason why we created this festival. I’m so grateful for all of the support from our performers and participants and of course Live Nation Urban, Pepsi and our additional partners who are committed to celebrating and creating community for Black women.”
This year, Blige has teamed up with industry pioneers Nicole Jackson, VP of MJB Inc., and Ashaunna Ayars of the Ayars Agency, to curate the exciting performances and panels throughout the festival.
“The popularity and impact of the inaugural Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit successfully showed how and why Black women are the blueprint for cultural relevancy and inclusion,” Jackson said of the event’s significance.
“Being able to look back and see the global reach the festival had through our live stream and billions of media impressions is confirmation that we are filling a void in the festival space. Mary, Ashaunna and myself are overjoyed to be back in Atlanta again and look forward to continued expansion in our programming and partnerships,” she added.
Presale tickets for the Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit are live now. Use code “SOAW23,” to get yours. General sale tickets for the fest will launch March 10 at 10 a.m. ET. For more details, visit www.soawfestival.com.
Will you be attending?
