Mary J. Blige’s Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit returns for a second year. The nine-time Grammy Award winner has announced the dates and lineup for the festival.
Strength of a Woman will take place May 11-14 at multiple locations in Atlanta, according to Billboard. Blige and Lauryn Hill will headline the festival for two nights at the State Farm Arena, with Summer Walker as special guest.
On May 12, Blige will perform an “MJB B-Sides” set to celebrate hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. The soulful hip-hop queen will sing rarely performed songs with a litany of special guests including Jodeci, Busta Rhymes, Method Man, Jadakiss, Jeezy and DJ Drama.
On May 13, Hill will lead an R&B showcase with additional performances from Walker, Muni Long, Lucky Daye and Coco Jones. Kenny Burns will host both evenings.
Grammy winner Robert Glasper will kick off the series of performances with a set at City Winery, and the festival will culminate with a gospel brunch, concert and its latest event, The Purpose Ball. Saucy Santana will perform at Purpose Ball as part of the festival’s efforts to highlight and empower the LGBTQIA community.
The festival will include a comedy night directed by Mike Epps and featuring Henry Welsh, Erica Duchess and Navv Greene. The summit will host live podcasts like “Angela Yee’s Lip Service,” “Don’t Call Me White Girl,” “Earn Your Leisure,” and more.
The Force of a Woman festival continues last year’s goal of celebrating, educating and empowering Black, Indigenous and Women of Color.
“Having the opportunity to continue to uplift, inspire and build within a community of women is why we created this festival,” Blige said in a statement. “I am so grateful for all of the support from our performers and attendees and of course Live Nation Urban, Pepsi and our other partners who are committed to celebrating and building community for black women.”
General sale tickets for the festival and the Strength of a Woman summit will be available on Friday at soawfestival.com.
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