Kes, Montano, Beenie Man and Nicki Minaj to share the stage at essence fest 2022

Soca stars Kes (aka Kes The Band) will perform on the main stage at this year’s ESSENCE Festival of Culture in New Orleans, the United States’ largest annual music festival based on per day attendance. The Trinidad & Tobago-based outfit will appear alongside Nicki Minaj, Beenie Man, Machel Montano and Mickey Guyton on the festival’s Night Two, Friday, July 1, at the Caesars Superdome. 

This marks Kes’ second appearance at the iconic celebration of Black culture, and their first on the mainstage at the 74,000-capacity Caesars Superdome (formerly the Louisiana Superdome and Mercedes-Benz Superdome).

Last year saw the band perform virtually from Trinidad at the ESSENCE Festival of Culture’s first virtual edition. 

The ESSENCE Fest date is one of many Kes live performances in the U.S. and worldwide in the coming months. The band will hit the road for spot dates throughout the late Spring and Summer, including an appearance at the Trace Made in Africa Festival in Porto, Portugal on May 24th, before heading out on a more formal tour later in the year. 

“After getting a taste of the ESSENCE Fest experience virtually last year, we’re excited to connect with the people live and direct this year, and bring a bit of the Caribbean and our islands of Trinidad & Tobago to New Orleans,” said Kes frontman, Kees Dieffenthaller, who is also known individually as Kes.

Kes is currently putting the finishing touches on their upcoming full-length album, due Summer 2022. January saw the rollout begin with island-pop smash “Jolene,” followed by “Liki Tiki,” their region-spanning collaboration with Haiti’s Michael Brun and JPerry, in March. Noted Trinidad & Tobago film director Maya Cozier (She Paradise) directed videos for both tracks, bringing her unique visual perspective to “Jolene” and “Liki Tiki.” 

For tickets, access and updates on this year’s ESSENCE Festival of Culture, visit EssenceFestival.com. Experience the Festival on ESSENCEStudios.com and EssenceFestival.com.