Mary J. Blige Moves Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit to New York City for 2024
- Tiffany Rigby
- May 8, 2024
- 2 min read
Singer and actress Mary J. Blige is hosting her third annual "Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit" and this time she is taking it to New York City. Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit is usually held in Atlanta but for the first time it will be in the hip-hop soul icon's hometown.
The Mother’s Day weekend festival taking place May 10 through May 12 is presented by the multiple Grammy Award winner and Pepsi in partnership with Live Nation Urban and MVD Inc. The three-day festival will include concerts, comedy shows, panels and female empowerment sessions curated by an all-Black and all-women team.
Blige created the multi-day festival in 2022 to empower and give resources to women of color across the music, wellness, tech, beauty and financial literacy sectors.
In a release Blige states,
“I’m so excited to bring our Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit to my hometown, New York City, a place that has always been a huge source of inspiration for me. Having the opportunity to continue to uplift, inspire and build within my community is the reason I created this festival. I’m so grateful for all the support from our performers, attendees and, of course, our partners Live Nation Urban and Pepsi. Nobody does it like New York, so get ready.”
The festival kicks off Friday, May 10, with a comedy show starring Tiffany Haddish and Paris Sashay at the Apollo Theater in Harlem and a jazz concert starring Robert Glasper at Blue Note in Greenwich Village.
Then on Saturday, May 11, the Strength of a Woman Summit will be hosted by radio host Angie Martinez and features keynote speakers, panels, workshops and more.
Saturday will close out with a concert at Barclays Center where Blige will headline alongside special guests 50 Cent, Jill Scott, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Muni Long, Lola Brooke and Funk Flex.
On Sunday, May 12, a gospel brunch hosted by Blige at the Brooklyn Chophouse in Times Square and a gospel concert featuring The Clark Sisters at the recently renovated Brooklyn Paramount will wrap up the weekend long event.
Blige and festival partner Pepsi are also teaming up to launch the Pepsi x Mary J. Blige Strength of a Woman Community Fund which has $100,000 available as grants for organizations whose work elevates and educates underserved women in Yonkers, N.Y.
She announced the fund with a surprise appearance at Westchester Community College on Thursday, April 25.
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