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mary j. blige, janelle monet and the roots.ill also be part of the festivities with members of the msnbc family. they can join the growing hope conversation and share your hope for change in our communities. joining me, the grio.com editor chris witherspoon who will be at the festival and also wrote about my natural hair on the grio. the essence festival. why is this so popular? >> it started out fairly small and now it's getting bigger and bigger. it's now the largest live event in the country. it's amazing. 543,000 attendees as you said. this year will be bigger than ever. 80 performers, 20 stages. you have prince coming here. last year beyonce. you have amazing artists that pass through here. janet jackson. luther vandross. it's really a place for major artists to come and showcase their work. it's really a benchmark for success. >> 30th anniversary of "purple rain." in addition, obviously, to the music it is about the movement and educating the community. "essence" magazine predominantly geared for women. as a result you ha

tonight janelle monet, prince. acts like mary j. blige, jill scott. something for everybody. empowerment sessions happening right now, i got to walk around the convention center. and it is already crowded. it's not even noon here yet in new orleans. already crowded. about 20 stages. a lot of big sponsors like ford, walmart, verizon are here and a lot of celebrities are here doing meet and greets with different people that watch their shows. >> how many folks are they expecting there in new orleans at the festival this year? >> so last year they had about 120,0 120,000. this year they're expecting about 150, even more than that. i spoke to an essence organizer and big numbers should come out of this festival. quite the anniversary. you have to go big. >> it's not just about the music, not just about the parties this year. what are you hearing about how they plan to mark 50 years since freedom summer? >> you know, it really is about the 20th anniversary of this festival being a pinnacle for this magazine. the festival started about 25 -- 20 years ago marxing the 25th anniversar