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Lauryn Hill was among the performers at this year’s Essence Festival on July 4, 2025. However, the musician is facing heavy criticism on social media after arriving nearly two hours late for her set.
The opening night ended early morning, close to around 4 a.m., due to Hill's delayed appearance, as stated by NOLA. Before she took the stage, Maxwell and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds performed, with the latter joking to the crowd at one point that he was feeling tired.
The Essence Festival was held at the New Orleans, Louisiana-based Caesars Superdome. According to HotNewHipHop, Lauryn began performing at 2:30 a.m., but the venue was nearly empty by the time she took the stage.
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The Art of Dialogue also obtained a video from the Caesars Superdome showing that most of the seats were empty, with only a small group of attendees standing in front and watching Lauryn Hill’s performance. Meanwhile, Hill has not responded to the criticism surrounding her late arrival.
Notably, this was considered one of the longest delays in the Essence Festival's 31-year history. A majority of the audience had reportedly been waiting to see Lauryn, whose performance was scheduled for 12:35 a.m., as per The Shade Room. Some attendees also took to social media to express their frustration after waiting for hours.
AllHipHop reported that Lauryn Hill was added to the first day's lineup just 48 hours before the festival started. Other performers included Psyrin, Lucky Dave, Coco Jones, GloRilla, the Isley Brothers, and Maxwell.
Essence Festival performances witnessed a delay on the first day
The timing for each artist’s appearance on stage was confirmed through the event's official Instagram handle. The festival was scheduled to start with Psyrin’s performance at 7:10 p.m., followed by eight more shows.
While Lauryn Hill is being criticized for her late arrival, the Essence Festival was already witnessing multiple delays in performances from the very start of the first day. The event started normally with Psyrin’s appearance until Lucky Dave and Coco Jones took the stage to perform pre-recorded songs, as per AllHipHop.
The Isley Brothers were originally set to perform at 9:15 p.m. However, GloRilla’s performance ended around 45 minutes after the Isley Brothers were scheduled to appear on stage. According to NOLA, the latter performed on some of their hit tracks like That Lady and Shout.
Babyface also gave a long performance on multiple singles of other artists, including Can We Talk by Tevin Campbell and Love Should Have Brought You Home by Toni Braxton.
AllHipHop reported that Maxwell’s performance reportedly didn't generate enough energy for all those attending the Essence Festival. Lauryn Hill continued performing despite the fact that the venue was not being fully occupied by the general public.
As reported by WWLTV on July 5, 2025, this year’s Essence Festival witnessed lower attendance. Kelly Schulz, a spokesperson for New Orleans & Co., told NOLA that hotel bookings were reported to be between 73% and 83%, which was lower compared to 81% and 91%, recorded back in 2024.
