Kes and Machel at Essence Festival again

Kes The Band and Machel Montano will perform at this year’s Essence Festival. The festival will run from June 30-July 3. The event is being held at Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, US.

The soca stars will perform on July 1 along with TT-born rapper Nicki Minaj, Jamaican dancehall artiste Beenie Man and American musician Mickey Guyton.

On the band’s Facebook page on April 28, Kes said, “We’re going to be performing at the Essence Festival of Culture presented by Coca-Cola. NOLA, we will be jammin’ with you on Friday 1 July at Caesars Superdome.”

This is not the first time the artistes will be performing on the Essence stage.

In 2019, Montano performed on the stage and in 2021 Kes performed at the festival’s virtual event.

Last year, in a media release, Kees Dieffenthaller, leader of Kes The Band, said, "Our mission has always been to spread the music and vibrations as far and wide as possible. Being a part of the Essence Fest line-up this year gives us the opportunity to share our energy through the music and culture of our beautiful islands, Trinidad and Tobago…”

Janet Jackson, Jazmine Sullivan, Stephanie Mills, Isley Brothers, Method Man and Ghostface Killah are among the other artistes scheduled to perform over the festival’s four days.