Welcome to “Coming Home,” a look inside New Orleans as we anticipate the return of the Essence Music Festival July 5, 6 and 7 to its long-time home, the New Orleans Superdome. A lot has happened since we last met in the Big Easy, when Destiny's Child, Kanye West, Alicia Keys and Lionel Richie were all on hand for "the Party with a Purpose." This year we're exited to have Beyoncé, Richie and Frankie Beverly and Maze, all of whom were a part of the Essence Festival last time it was in New Orleans, and we’re excited by the progress New Orleans has made since the storm.
There are still challenges, but a lot of good things are happening, and everywhere you look, you see signs that the city that throws a party like no other does is ready for the Essence Fest. This time a year ago, touring bands came to New Orleans sporadically. Modern rock band The Academy Is played the House of Blues and when they visited Bourbon Street after the show, they noticed, "There were a lot of dudes."
New Orleans today is a very different place today than it was a year ago, when male FEMA and reconstruction crews dominated Bourbon Street. Go to the French Quarter on a weekend night and you see the people you're accustomed to seeing there—young couples, friends and tourists out looking for a party. And music? Last week, the Isley Brothers packed the House of Blues. Ronald Isley was a sight in a cardinal red suit with a matching shirt and bowler hat. They had the house rocking from the funky "Who's That Lady" until they finished with "Fight the Power" and a James Brown/Sly Stone medley, slowing it down periodically for hits including "Between the Sheets," during which their dancing girls came out wearing black teddies with red elbow-length gloves.
The Isleys weren't the only major act to play New Orleans recently. Billy Joel and Justin Timberlake played the New Orleans Arena recently, and the Police reunion tour is scheduled to come to town in June. With the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and the Essence Music Festival taking place in the next few months, it's clear musicians are optimistic about New Orleans. They're not the only ones. Recently, the city hosted a first round regional for the NCAA basketball tournament, and conventions have come back in a major way.
Last year, I rode my bike to work and went by the Morial Convention Center because there was so little traffic. I did find it reassuring to see it looking peaceful considering the tragedy that had taken place there in August, 2005, but I also liked riding on the wide sidewalks in front of the convention center. It was a big deal last summer when the American Library Association had its national conference at the convention center, but conventions are becoming sufficiently common again that they aren't news now. I've had to change my route to work because the sidewalk has too many conventioneers to safely ride around, and shuttle buses dropping people off make riding the streets risky on a bicycle.
Obviously, the convention center brings back a wide variety of emotional memories, but the facility that in the past has been the site of many of Essence Festival's lectures and discussions has been so thoroughly rehabbed that if you hadn't seen footage of New Orleanians waiting there to be taken out of the city, you could never tell anything had happened. There is no doubt about it; New Orleans isn't the same as it was before Katrina. Estimates say that the city's population won't return to the size it was pre-K in the next decade, but the people who are here are the people who love what New Orleans is and want to be a part of restoring not only the physical city but also the culture that makes it so distinctive as well. The conventions, festivals and touring acts suggest that many in the country believe in the city, too, and want to be part of its recovery.
In Festival news, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Lionel Richie and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly have confirmed for the Essence Music Festival, which takes place July 5-7 at the Louisiana Superdome. Also on the bill so far are the O'Jays with Keith Sweat and Johnny Gill, Ludacris, Ciara, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Steve Harvey and Robin Thicke. This will be the first event in the Superdome since the New Orleans Saints defeated the Philadelphia Eagles to go to the NFC league championship last January. This season was a magical one for the Saints and for its fans, and the dome was very much a part of that magic as it was transformed from the site of tragedy to home of community bonding as everybody came together behind the Saints.
The Saints lost the next week to the Bears, so that was the last home game of the season. Dome crews went to work immediately getting the building ready for the Essence Festival. The main stage area was already in shape to host a major event, so they started began complete renovations of the rooms that house the superlounges. Considering the job done on the Superdome for football season, there's no reason not to think the superlounges will be at least as good if not better than ever.
Questions about New Orleans? Send them to cominghome@essence.com.
Writer Alex Rawls edits OffBeat, New Orleans' music and culture magazine.