2022’s Essence Festival of Culture has been in full swing down in New Orleans this weekend, including headlining performances from stars like Kevin Hart, Nicki Minaj, Lucky Daye, and more.
Today (July 3) the four-day event will come to a close after a slew of other artists take to the stage, including WizKid, Tems, the City Girls, The Roots & Friends, the Isley Brothers, and finally, a headlining show by New Edition, but it’s unlikely that anyone will be done talking about Saturday night’s run anytime soon.
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In case you missed it, after Summer Walker took to the stage, Jazmine Sullivan came out to perform some of her Heaux Tales hits and more. As if that’s not already impressive enough, their sets were followed by 78-year-old Patti LaBelle, who could only be topped by Janet Jackson – the final act of the evening.
The Indiana-born songstress gave her all to the crowd, with many pointing out that her microphone stayed on, even while she was performing rigorous choreography.
“Janet Jackson is giving a masterclass as Essence Fest in crafting a concert set list,” one Twitter user wrote. “She is bouncing between hit singles and deep cuts with precision and continuing to build on or coast on the energy of the track before.”
Another added, “Having Jazmine Sullivan, Patti LaBelle, and Janet Jackson as a 1-2-3 punch is NUTS. Essence SNAPPED!”
Check out more reactions below, and let us know if you tuned into the 2022 Essence Festival live stream in the comments.