Inside ESSENCE Fest’s Exclusive L.A. Party

Janeeka, Adrienne Muse, Jonica T. Gibbs and Siya | Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for ESSENCE By Essence ·June 27, 2021June 27, 2021

As the first weekend of Essence Festival of Culture wind downs, we invited a few special friends to see the evening concert performances up close and personal in Los Angeles. For the first time ever, ESSENCE brought the experience of NOLA—our second home truly is the Crescent City—to Hollywood through a collaboration between Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad and Charles S. King’s MACRO, two of the biggest productions companies developing content we cannot get enough of.

Attendees were treated to New Orleans inspired eats and drinks and more importantly kept safe as EFOC performances—including those from Jazmine Sullivan, Tank and Lucky Daye—were streamed throughout the venue. Celebrity guests included stars from the small screen including The Chi’s Miriam A. Hyman, Twenties star Jonica T. Gibbs, All American’s Kareem J. Grimes, Salt-N-Pepa star Laila Odom, Insecure‘s Jean Elie, plus celebrity stylists Wayman & Micah (Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald) and Buttah Skin founder Dorion Renaud.

For an inside peek at ESSENCE Fest’s exclusive L.A. party, see below. If you missed the evening concert series, hosted by Eva Marcille, we got you. See all of the performances and more here.

01ESSENCE/Hillman Grad/Macro NOxLA Experience Watch Party Soiree