Mary J. Blige has announced her inaugural women-led Strength Of A Woman Festival, which will debut during Mother’s Day 2022 weekend in Atlanta, Ga.
The Grammy Award-winning songstress teamed up with Pepsi and Live Nation to throw the three-day festival, which will be devoted to music, tech, beauty, wellness, and financial literacy. It was named after Blige’s highest-charting album from 2017 of the same name and will kick off on May 6 until May 8.
“Get dressed. Get decked out. Let your hair down,” Blige told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The Strength of a Woman is about us coming together to heal, to be examples for each other, and to do some partying.”
Performers at the festival include today’s hottest female artists in hip-hop and R&B, like special guest Ella Mai, City Girls, and Queen Naija, as well as veterans such as Chaka Khan and Xscape.
“These are some of my favorite singers,” Blige said. “They move the culture and have made us dance all of our lives. It’s about women who want to elevate and keep moving forward.”
The 51-year-old said the idea for the festival came to her and collaborators after early listening sessions of her 15th studio album, Good Morning Gorgeous.
“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,” she said. “Each time, the people in the room would share a story, oftentimes of heartbreak or pain. But, they always ended [their stories] with joy and love…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.”
They also reportedly chose to have Strength Of A Woman in ATL because of its longstanding history of being an epicenter of Black creativity and entrepreneurship. As such, they have joined forces with dozens of local minority and female-owned businesses and vendors to create an excellent experience for attendees.
“Atlanta has been doing this for a while. It’s a big Black entertainment hub. If we’re doing it for the culture, and we’re doing it for us, do it there,” the Yonkers-born singer said. “Atlanta was always the most fun place to party and still is for me. I remember Jack the Rapper, and don’t get me started on Freaknik.”
Atlanta’s newest Mayor, Andre Dickens, also expressed his excitement for the festival, saying it will uplift the local businesses chosen to partake in it. He concluded, thanking Blige and her partners for bringing the festival to his city, which, he said, has influenced “everything.”
“Thank you to Mary J. Blige—one of our nation’s most iconic artists and no stranger to Atlanta—and her partners for choosing Atlanta for this inaugural event. Atlanta continues to influence everything.”
The legendary musician said she was thankful for everyone participating in her new endeavor.
“I’m so grateful to all of the performers, vendors, and participants for committing themselves to our inaugural event. 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.”
Presale tickets went live on March 8, and general on-sale tickets went live on March 10 via the Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit’s website.
Blige has also been busy working on her upcoming film with Lifetime, Real Love.
