The thing about Essence Music Festival is it’s a wear out. The concerts never start on time, they end late, and to enjoy the super lounges where additional acts perform, one has to stand the entire time. All of it makes for an experience more suited for youngsters, but last night’s lineup was definitely for the grown folks.
Day two of the Essence Music Festival was not for the young, but definitely for the young at heart. R&B singer Joe had the crowd singing along to hits like ‘I Wanna Know’ and ‘All The Things (Your Man Won’t Do)’ in the Coca-Cola super lounge. Other super lounge acts included Mint Condition and for a dose of old school hip-hop, De La Soul performed in the Lincoln Superlounge. Meanwhile, on the main stage, Keri Hilson kicked things off for the evening, but even made sure to give her props to R&B forefathers by bringing out El Debarge who’s been enjoying a renaissance since his surprise performance at the BET Awards.
But the night’s headliner Alicia Keys stole the show, as all eyes were locked on the noticeably pregnant songstress. Though the singer scared the entire crowd and backstage when she took a small spill during her performance of ‘Love Is Blind’, Keys performed like a woman ready to go all night as she sailed through hits like ‘Karma’ and ‘You Don’t Know My Name.’ Unfortunately, as of press time, no photos were available for her performance. But check out the rest of the pics of celebrities who showed up back stage at the Belve Music Lounge as well as performance shots of Keri Hilson and El Debarge.
NEXT PAGE: KERI HILSON AND EL DEBARGE
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MORE PERFORMANCE PICS AT ESSENCE.COM
NEXT PAGE: MYSTIKAL AND OTHERS FROM BACKSTAGE AT THE BELVE MUSIC LOUNGE AT ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL
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Mystikal at the Belve Music Lounge
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Jada Pinkett-Smith at the Belve Music Lounge
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Kenya Moore at the Belve Music Lounge
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Keri Hilson at the Belve Music Lounge
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