Essence Festival Criticized for Near-Empty Lauryn Hill Performance

The Essence Festival of Culture isn’t what it used to be, at least according to media outlets that covered this year’s festival.

The 2025 gathering, which ran over the July 4th weekend in New Orleans, faced backlash for Friday night’s poorly-attended Lauryn Hill performance.

The concert event featured a roster of big names, but ran so far behind schedule that the audience dwindled by the time Hill performed, according to Nola.com. The outlet reported the R&B legend was added to the already “overstuffed opening night” just two days in advance.

Hill didn’t take the stage at Caesars Superdome until 2:31 a.m. Saturday and ended her set at 3:37 a.m. The Superdome was a “ghost town” by that point, per Nola.com. 

Related: Essence Festival Admits Blame for Delays and Near-Empty Lauryn Hill Performance

Local news station WWL reported the arena was “largely empty” even before Hill performed.

The eight-time Grammy winner has a history of being tardy for shows, but this time it wasn’t her fault.

The problem — some performers finished their sets an hour after the next act was supposed to start. The night’s other performers included the Isley Brothers, Maxwell, Babyface, and GloRilla.

By all accounts, Hill turned in a great performance. She was joined by her sons Zion Marley and Joshua “YG” Marley, and belted out songs from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Fugees hits.

Attendance was said to be down for the entire festival.

New Orleans & Co. spokesperson Kelly Schulz told Nola.com hotel occupancy rates were at 73-83 percent over the weekend, compared to 81-91 percent during last year’s festival.

Essence Fest officials blamed an “uncertain climate” and changing travel habits for the decline.

The 2025 festival also faced scrutiny for its ongoing Target sponsorship as many in the Black community boycott the retailer for rolling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives after President Trump called for DEI programs to be dismantled in government and the private sector.

Essence Fest was additionally pummeled on its Instagram page for “poor planning” and for this year’s “poorly executed” Super Lounge experiences.

In a statement on Instagram, festival organizers said: “Unfortunately, we missed the mark.”

Coming out of New Orleans, Lauryn Hill perform in front an ‘empty crowd’ after a later performance, but this time attendees are blaming event organizers.

Hill ended up hitting the stage until 2:35 AM for her July 4th performance at Essence Fest. pic.twitter.com/CpvIEVAK0E

— HYPE+ (@HypePlusTV) July 6, 2025