Mary J. Blige and Pepsi have today announced the inaugural “Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit” in partnership with Live Nation Urban.
The festival will take place in Atlanta, GA with three days devoted to music, comedy, and community building between May 6-8th, 2022. The “unapologetically curated for and by women” festival has been intentionally scheduled for Mother’s Day weekend. Presale tickets go live Tuesday, March 8, 2022 at 10am ET, while general on-sale begins on Thursday, March 10th at 10AM ET on the official website.
“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” stated Mary. “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.”
The festival is the brainchild of Blige, and her partners Nicole Jackson, Vice President of MJB Inc., and Marketing Maven Ashaunna Ayars of The Ayars Agency.
Kicking off the weekend is the concert at Tabernacle Atlanta, curated to highlight youth culture and emerging Hip-Hop and R&B acts such as Kiana Ledé, Emotional Oranges, Inayah, MK XYZ, Omerettá the Great, and more. Rounding out the night is the comedy show at Buckhead Theater hosted by Atlanta radio personality Wanda featuring the hilarious Ms. Pat and more. The festivities for Saturday, May 7th start off at The Gathering Spot ATL with the Strength of a Woman Summit
The festival continues at the State Farm Arena with the second concert night with performances by Mary J. Blige and special guests, Chaka Khan, City Girls, Ella Mai, and Queen Naija, and more, hosted by Kenny Burns. The culminating event is the Mother’s Day Gospel Brunch on Sunday, May 8th. Hosted at the beautiful City Winery, the ticketed brunch service will feature Gospel music’s hottest artists including Kierra Sheard, Le’Andria Johnson, and more.
