Mary J. Blige Teams with Pepsi and Live Nation Urban for “Strength of a Woman” Festival & Summit

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In collaboration with Live Nation Urban, Mary J. Blige and Pepsi proudly announce the inaugural “Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit.” Between May 6th and 8th, 2022, the festival will take place in the lively metropolis of Atlanta, GA, with three days dedicated to music, comedy, and community development. The presale begins at 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, and the general on-sale begin at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday, March 10th.

The festival is designed for and by women on Mother’s Day weekend in Atlanta, GA, a hub for creativity and culture. Mary J Blige has dedicated the majority of her career to magnify, empower, and give voice to BIPOC women via the art of music and truth-telling. She is a 9-time Grammy Award-Winning Singer, Songwriter, Actress, Producer, Philanthropist, and Global Superstar. The progression of her life’s mission and purpose is this multi-touchpoint event, which focuses on Music, Wellness, Technology, Beauty, and Financial Literacy.

“The idea for the festival came to us after early listening sessions of my latest album with my family and friends and women in the industry. Each time, the people in the room would share a story, oftentimes of heartbreak or pain, but they always ended with joy and love and how their girlfriends or mom or sister helped them find their voice and strength. We felt like after two years of being inside and having to endure so much, that this was the type of experience that people, especially women, deserved,” said Blige. “I’m so grateful to all of the performers, vendors, and participants for committing themselves to our inaugural event and I am so excited to do this in a city that has been rocking with me since the very beginning of my career. I am proud to create this with my sisters and I look forward to an undeniably beautiful and special experience.”

Blige and her colleagues Nicole Jackson, Vice President of MJB Inc., and Marketing Maven Ashaunna Ayars of The Ayars Agency created the festival. They’ve put together a team of women to run every aspect of the festival, from production to communications, in an attempt that reflects the festival’s mission and vision.

Ayars says, “This festival and summit were created for our friends, mothers, sisters, and the countless women who walk unapologetically in their truth and strength. Being able to bring an experience like this to fruition, especially with a dynamic team of Black women at the helm, is a dream come true. I’ve lived in Atlanta for several years and am thrilled that we’ll be able to give back to a city that has nurtured, supported, and amplified to the global stage so many Black artists and entrepreneurs. We are so grateful for Pepsi’s support in celebrating and honoring women, but also with their commitment via grants for the larger Atlanta creative & entrepreneurial community.”

Due to its reputation as a hotspot for young Black creatives and entrepreneurs, Blige and her collaborators chose Atlanta as the setting for this inaugural event. To ensure participants have the greatest experience possible, the festival has partnered with dozens of local, minority, and female-owned companies and vendors. The festival’s involvement in the local entrepreneurial community, as well as the performers and hosts for the numerous events during the weekend, demonstrate the festival’s affection for Atlanta.

You can see the full lineup for the festival below and learn about all of the events of the weekend here.

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ICYMI: J. Cole Announces Dreamville Festival Lineup Featuring Lil Baby, Wizkid, Kehlani & More

J. Cole's Dreamville Festival

J. Cole and his Dreamville crew have revealed the whole music lineup for the second edition of Dreamville Festival, which will take place on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3 this spring. DreamvilleFest.com has tickets available now

Dreamville Festival will expand to two days this April after a sold-out inaugural one-day event in 2019. The Dreamville Festival is projected to bring in millions of dollars to the local and state economies once again.

Cole has invited some of his favorite musicians and collaborators to join him in his home state of North Carolina for one of the most anticipated music events of the year for his festival’s long-awaited return. On Saturday, Lil Baby will headline, with WizKid, Kehlani, Morray, and Fivio Foreign also performing; on Sunday, DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz will perform for the first time, with Lil Wayne, Jeezy, and T.I., as well as a diverse lineup of artists including Ari Lennox, Moneybagg Yo, Bia, Rico Nasty, Wale, and Larry June, plus a headlining set from J. Cole to close out the weekend.

“We always set out to curate something special. Our Dreamville family has been patiently waiting for the fest’s return and now we’re back with a lineup unlike anything else found in today’s event landscape,” said Dreamville Partner and Festival President Adam Roy.

Cole is bringing together the entire Dreamville Records music roster to play at the enlarged two-day event, which will represent a rare reunion for the label. In addition to Cole, notable Dreamville performers due to perform include Ari Lennox, Bas, J.I.D, EarthGang, Cozz, and Omen, as well as Lute from nearby Charlotte.

Fans at Dreamville Festival 2022 will be treated to a spectacular on-stage reunion from Ja Rule and Ashanti, as well as R&B’s auto-tune pioneer T-Pain, in addition to the launch of the Gangsta Grillz joint performance starring three southern rap superstars and hosted by none other than DJ Drama.

The official Dreamville Festival charity partners, the Dreamville Foundation and Dorothea Dix Park Conservancy, will get a portion of the proceeds from the 2022 event. Visit www.Dreamville.com and www.DixPark.org for additional information on these organizations.

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The Weeknd Set for ‘After Hours Til Dawn’ Stadium Tour with Doja Cat

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The Weeknd has announced the After Hours Til Dawn stadium tour, which will kick off in Abel’s hometown of Toronto on Friday, July 8 at the Rogers Centre before hitting America for stops at Soldier Field in Chicago, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, and more. The tour will wrap at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles California. This is the first leg of The Weeknd’s massive world tour, with additional dates in Mexico, South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa & the Middle East on the way. Tickets go on sale on March 10.

During The Weeknd’s run across North America he will be joined by Doja Cat.

Verizon’s customer loyalty program Verizon Up will provide an exclusive presale for The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn Tour in the United States. Beginning Monday, March 7th at 10:00 a.m. local time and ending Wednesday, March 9th at 10:00 p.m. local time, members will have the first opportunity to purchase presale tickets for select concerts. To finalize their transaction, Verizon Up members will be asked to link their Verizon accounts to their Ticketmaster accounts on ticketmaster.com. Visit Verizon Up for more information and to sign up.

Starting March 8th, there will be a Spotify Fans First presale for The Weeknd’s top streamers, as well as Live Nation presales in all markets.

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TW AHTD TOUR ANNOUNCE PHASE ONE NA VERSION MAIN

The World Food Programme (WFP), the world’s largest humanitarian organization fighting global hunger, has teamed up with its Goodwill Ambassador Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye to launch the XO HUMANITARIAN FUND, to which he will donate $1 from every ticket sold in North America from this highly anticipated tour. The Weeknd will also donate $500,000, and World Food Program USA will contribute $1 million to the initiative. The multi-platinum and diamond certified global celebrity launched this fund to support the United Nations World Food Programme’s crucial food aid to people on the verge of starvation in countries such as Ethiopia, Madagascar, and Yemen, driven by his desire to help those in need. World Food Program USA is in charge of the Fund.

The Weeknd will be touring his massive album After Hours (whose hit single “Blinding Lights” was named the new No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 song of all time, surpassing Chubby Checker’s 1960 hit “The Twist”), as well as the recently released and critically acclaimed album DAWN FM, for the first time in 2022.

The tour will be his most ambitious to date, reflecting the creative journey that has been unfolding for both of these albums, creating worlds within worlds as we’ve all seen unfold in various television performances, music videos, and short films bringing these first two pieces of his trilogy to life.

The Weeknd x The Dawn FM Experience premiered on Prime Video earlier this week. The immersive music spectacular transforms the critically acclaimed album Dawn FM by the multi platinum, two-time Grammy-winning musician into a compelling visual, creating a theatrical performance event that has engulfed spectators in its unsettling and melancholy atmosphere. The Weeknd x The Dawn FM Experience is now available exclusively on Prime Video to Prime members in over 240 countries and territories across the world.

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J. Cole Announces Dreamville Festival Lineup Featuring Lil Baby, Wizkid, Kehlani & More

J. Cole's Dreamville Festival

J. Cole and his Dreamville crew have revealed the whole music lineup for the second edition of Dreamville Festival, which will take place on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3 this spring. DreamvilleFest.com has tickets available now

Dreamville Festival will expand to two days this April after a sold-out inaugural one-day event in 2019. The Dreamville Festival is projected to bring in millions of dollars to the local and state economies once again.

Cole has invited some of his favorite musicians and collaborators to join him in his home state of North Carolina for one of the most anticipated music events of the year for his festival’s long-awaited return. On Saturday, Lil Baby will headline, with WizKid, Kehlani, Morray, and Fivio Foreign also performing; on Sunday, DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz will perform for the first time, with Lil Wayne, Jeezy, and T.I., as well as a diverse lineup of artists including Ari Lennox, Moneybagg Yo, Bia, Rico Nasty, Wale, and Larry June, plus a headlining set from J. Cole to close out the weekend.

“We always set out to curate something special. Our Dreamville family has been patiently waiting for the fest’s return and now we’re back with a lineup unlike anything else found in today’s event landscape,” said Dreamville Partner and Festival President Adam Roy.

Cole is bringing together the entire Dreamville Records music roster to play at the enlarged two-day event, which will represent a rare reunion for the label. In addition to Cole, notable Dreamville performers due to perform include Ari Lennox, Bas, J.I.D, EarthGang, Cozz, and Omen, as well as Lute from nearby Charlotte.

Fans at Dreamville Festival 2022 will be treated to a spectacular on-stage reunion from Ja Rule and Ashanti, as well as R&B’s auto-tune pioneer T-Pain, in addition to the launch of the Gangsta Grillz joint performance starring three southern rap superstars and hosted by none other than DJ Drama.

The official Dreamville Festival charity partners, the Dreamville Foundation and Dorothea Dix Park Conservancy, will get a portion of the proceeds from the 2022 event. Visit www.Dreamville.com and www.DixPark.org for additional information on these organizations.

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Amazon Music Names Phylicia Fant Head of Music Industry Partnerships

Amazon Music Names Phylicia Fant Head of Music Industry Partnerships

Industry veteran Phylicia Fant is headed to Amazon Music. Fant has been named the head of music industry partnerships, a role created and designed to identify and oversee strategic music partnerships and identify cross-entertainment campaigns. Variety notes she will report to Ryan Redington, Amazon’s Vice President of Music Industry.

After a three-year stint at Sony Music’s Columbia Records, Fant arrives at Amazon Music after a three-year term. While serving as the head of urban music, Fan worked alongside Lil Nas X, Joey Bada$$, Polo G, the Kid Laroi, and more. Before that position, Fant worked at Warner Bros. Records as the senior VP of media & strategic development, assisting Prince, Drake’s OVO Sound, Gucci Mane, and more. Her career also had stops at Motown Records and Universal Music Group. Fant is also the Purple Agency founder and CEO, providing public relations and lifestyle-marketing strategies to Swizz Beatz, Hennessy, Coca-Cola, and a bevy of other clients.

Fant has also been named to the Variety Hitmakers list, numerous Billboard Lists, and won the NAASC NY chapter “Rising Star Award.”

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D-Nice to Host Club Quarantine Live in Las Vegas, Feat. Keyshia Cole, Fabolous & More

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D-Nice releases the lineup for Club Quarantine Live in Vegas Weekend, which will take place September 2-4 in Las Vegas, NV, and is co-presented by Brand Nice and Live Nation Urban.

“I’m excited to be able to continue the momentum from the sold-out Club Quarantine Live shows last year,” said D-Nice. “Together with the incredible team at Live Nation Urban, we are bringing an amazing and diversified line-up of programming to Las Vegas. There is something for everyone in the CQ Family to enjoy!”

D-Nice has put together a strong and eclectic lineup for what promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime three-day extravaganza in the world’s party capital. D-Nice will play many times over the weekend, as will Keyshia Cole, Fabolous, Jagged Edge, Tank, El Debarge, Amerie, Mya, Fred Hammond, and others. The weekend will also include day and night events such as CQ Live, the Nine Zero welcome party, Girls Dem Sugar Pool Party, Praise and Worship Brunch, Originals Closing Party, and an unique CQ After Dark late-night extravaganza for the nighthawks.

“We couldn’t be more excited to continue to help D-Nice grow the Club Quarantine brand,” says Malcolm J. Gray, Marketing and Partnerships Director of Live Nation Urban. “Taking Club Quarantine Live to Vegas is a momentous step as D continues to nurture and grow his community while using music to bring people together. This is really going to be something special.”

D-Nice will also organize The Meet Up, a series of panels on health and wellness and financial literacy, as part of the weekend experience, as he continues to discover meaningful ways for his community to interact with one another and grow stronger.

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Inaugural LETSGETFR.EE Festival to Hit Queens with Missy Elliott, Wizkid, Anderson .Paak

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Matthew Morgan, the originator and former leader of the massively renowned global AFROPUNK festivals, has announced the inaugural edition of their new concept LETSGETFR.EE for August 20th and 21st, 2022, with an opening night gala on August 19th, in collaboration with global creative agency Anomaly.

Missy Elliott, Wizkid, Ozuna, Kali Uchis, and Anderson will be among the performers at the event, which will take place at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, the site of the first World’s Fair. Paak & The Free Nationals, Jhené Aiko, YEDRY, Jorja Smith, El Alfa, Ferg, Lido Pimienta, Teezo Touch Down, Flatbush Zombies, Tems, Bomba Estéreo, Priya Ragu, Tiwa Savage, Major Lazer Sound System, Bas, Heavy Balie, GoldLink, and many more will perform on stages curated by VP Records, Noir Fever, and D36, Jai Wolf (DJ Set) and guests will perform on the D36 Stage.

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The largest diversity-focused, purpose-driven music experience in the United States is LETSGETFR.EE. Its mission is to close the equity gap in the entertainment business for Black, Brown, Asian, and other underrepresented persons, with the goal of having a diverse workforce across all levels by 2030. To carry out this purpose, LETSGETFR.EE pledges to its community that it will only collaborate with brands and businesses that are committed to long-term structural change.

LETSGETFR.EE is on a mission to revolutionize and empower the next generation of Fr.ee thinkers, artists, activists, and innovators. The dynamic energy of Brazilian Carnaval and Caribbean sound system culture is embodied by LETSGETFR.EE, which is rooted in the belief that we are better when we celebrate our diversity together. The two-day event, which takes place in the center of the world’s most diverse county, Queens, NY, features a Party Stage, rolling Trio stages, Pavilions edutainment programming, and much more.

All tickets are sold through DICE. The Queens presale begins on Tuesday, March 8th at 10:00 AM EST. Tickets will be available to the general public beginning Wednesday, March 9th at 10:00 AM EST here

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Kanye West, Future and Kendrick Lamar to Headline Rolling Loud Miami

Kanye West Italian Wedding

Rolling Loud will kick off festival season as it announced its Miami lineup. This year, Kanye West, Future, and Kendrick Lamar are all set to be headliners. Still, there will also be sets from Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Baby Keem, Lil Baby, Gunna, Lil Durk, Saweetie, City Girls, Gucci Mane, Three 6 Mafia, Flo Milli, A$AP Ferg, and more.

Kanye will get things going for the first night, while Future headlines on Saturday and Kendrick closes on Sunday.

The two-day music festival will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on July 22-24. Another person who will be taking the stage will be DaBaby. Last year at this event, DaBaby made a controversial comment that people viewed as homophobic and insensitive to those affected with HIV. As a result, the cancel culture attempted to cancel the Charlotte rapper’s career, but thanks to the forgiveness of Hip-Hop fans, they didn’t.

DaBaby later apologized to the HIV community during a virtual meeting. Following the meeting, community leaders and attendees said in a joint statement that the rapper had “apologized for the inaccurate and hurtful comments he made about people living with HIV.”

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Rolling Loud Miami Headlined by YE, Future, & Kendrick Lamar

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Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, and Future will headline Rolling Loud Miami 2022, according to Rolling Loud. The world’s leading rap festival’s main event comes to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL on July 22nd-24th with those first-class headliners and an undercard consisting of some of the genre’s most fascinating talents.

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Future will get the opportunity to follow up his show-stopping conclusion performance from Rolling Loud California 2021, when he welcomed special guest Kanye West, during the forthcoming event, which will be Kendrick Lamar’s first Rolling Loud since Miami 2017. Meanwhile, Kanye teamed up with Rolling Loud for a one-of-a-kind Donda 2 Listening Event in Miami last week, where he performed tracks from his new album for the first time and was accompanied by celebrities like as Jack Harlow, Playboi Carti, and others.

A-listers such as Gunna, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, and Saweetie, as well as rising stars such as Don Toliver, Baby Keem, City Girls, and Ski Mask The Slump God, as well as respected veterans such as Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Three Six Mafia, and others, will perform in Miami 2022.

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Megan Thee Stallion to Host Virtual Reality Tour with AmazeVR

Megan Thee Stallion to Host Virtual Reality Tour with AmazeVR

Megan Thee Stallion will host her own virtual reality concert tour. Teaming with AmazeVR, the 10-city tour will run from April to July.

“Virtual reality has always been an interest of mine, and I’m glad that we’ll be able to make history with this experience,” Thee Stallion said in a statement to Billboard. “My hotties will get to watch me perform in a completely different and unique way, and I appreciate the AmazeVR team for helping me to bring this VR vision to life. I can’t wait to see the Hotties show up to the tour.”

“We are thrilled to work with Megan to launch AmazeVR’s very first VR Concert Tour,” said Ernest Lee, Amaze VR co-CEO. “She’s an artist who has incredible stage presence and can create iconic moments that will make the most of the VR technology we’re developing. If anyone could push the notion of how captivating a VR concert can be, it’s Megan.”

The show will have a various environments and wardrobes for each show. Fans will be able to go to local theaters and put on VR headsets tow atch the concert.

Tour dates are available below:

Los Angeles, April 5-10
San Francisco, April 21-24
Chicago, May 5-8
Dallas, May 12-15
Houston, May 19-22
Atlanta, May 26-29
Miami, June 2-5
Charlotte, June 16-19
Washington DC, June 23-26
New York, June 30-July 3

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