Mary J. Blige and Pepsi Present the "Strength of a Woman" Festival and Summit Hosted in Atlanta!

Just in time for National Women's Month, and announced on International Women's Day, Mary J. Blige and Pepsi have teamed up to strengthen and empower women everywhere! The "Strength of a Woman" Festival and Summit will feature performances by Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill, Summer Walker, Robert Glasper, Mike Epps, Jodeci, Busta Rhymes, Jeezy, Method Man, Jadakiss, Lucky Daye, Coco Jones, Saucy Santana, Sunday Service Collective and Muni Long.

Mary J. Blige and Pepsi proudly announce the second annual Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit in partnership with Live Nation Urban. The festival returns to the vibrant city of Atlanta, GA, with four days devoted to music, comedy, female empowerment and community building between May 11th -14th, 2023. Presale tickets go live TODAY at NOON ET with code SOAW23, while general on-sale begins Friday, March 10th at 10 AM ET. For tickets, visit www.soawfestival.com.

Created and curated by Grammy-award-winning R&B songstress Mary J. Blige, Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit is the only festival experience in the market brought to you exclusively by an all-Black, female team and will return this spring to the hotbed for creativity and culture, Atlanta, GA. After selling out in less than 72 hours last year, the festival continues to bring what are sure to be iconic moments back to the State Farm Arena with two incredible nights of music: the #HipHop50 celebration featuring rarely-performed hits by Mary J. Blige and friends in a special” MJB B-Sides” set; and a special R&B night with performances by the legendary Lauryn Hill, Summer Walker, Lucky Daye, Muni Long, and more.

This year’s festival is a clear “leveling-up” with an expanded footprint in the city and its programming, aiming to create even more opportunities for women and underrepresented groups to find community and joy. New to the festival this year is a special live music event with Grammy-Award winner Robert Glasper along with the Sunday night closing event–PURPOSE BALL, powered by Gilead, produced by Miss Lawrence and featuring a special performance from Saucy Santana. The PURPOSE BALL was created after connecting with friends and partners in the LGBTQAI community around how the festival could celebrate and honor their impact on popular culture—especially in Atlanta. After an extremely successful launch in 2022, and the overwhelming feedback from attendees, the female-led team is set to deliver bigger, better and more impactful programming for 2023 with support from returning and new partners this year, including Mielle Organics, CVS Health and Twitch

As a 9x Grammy Award-Winning Singer, Songwriter, Actress, Producer, Philanthropist & Global Superstar, Mary J. Blige has committed the majority of her career to amplify, empower, and give voice to BIPOC women through the art of music and truth-telling. This multi-touchpoint festival, which focuses on Music, Wellness, Tech, Beauty, and Financial Literacy, is the evolution of her life’s mission and purpose.

“ I’m so excited to bring our Strength of a Woman Festival & Summit back to Atlanta for its second year, ” said Mary J. Blige, Founder of Strength of a Woman Festival & Summit. “Having the opportunity to continue to uplift, inspire, and build amongst a community of women is the reason why we created this festival. I’m so grateful for all of the support from our performers and participants and of course Live Nation Urban, Pepsi and our additional partners who are committed to celebrating and creating community for Black women.”

Join Strength of a Woman in Atlanta on the following dates this spring:

Thursday, May 11th

• Robert Glasper at City Winery

Friday, May 12th

• Concert: Mary J. Blige & Friends with a special “MJB B-Sides” set celebrating Hip Hop 50th Celebration at State Farm Arena

  • Special performances by Jodeci, Jeezy, DJ Drama and more

  • Hosted by Kenny Burns

Saturday, May 13th

• Strength of a Woman Summit at America’s Mart

  • Participants and Programming details forthcoming

• Concert: R&B Night at State Farm Arena

  • Performances by Lauryn Hill, Summer Walker, Muni Long, Lucky Daye, and Coco Jones

  • Hosted by Kenny Burns

Sunday, May 14th

• Gospel Brunch and Concert at The Bank

  • Performance by Sunday Service Collective

  • Hosted by Ryan Cameron

• The Purpose Ball at The Bank powered by Gilead

  • Produced by Miss Lawrence

  • Performance by Saucy Santana

• Comedy Night Show at Tabernacle

  • Headliner: Mike Epps

  • Additional Sets by Don’t Call Me White Girl, Henry Welch and Navv Greene

  • Hosted by Erica Duchess

About The Ayars Agency

The Ayars Agency is a brand and entertainment marketing firm rooted in strategy – a customized mix of analytics and real-work insights. TAA acutely understands this generation’s worldview, behaviors, relationship to culture, and the importance of the brands in their lives. The Ayars Agency also knows that today’s culture disruptors relate based on shared values and interests, not demographics, race, age, or gender. Their work is grounded in consumer insights, cultural truths, and brand fidelity. Because of this, they are able to conceive, implement, and execute dynamic campaigns rich in cultural impact.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company composed of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, and Live Nation Media & Sponsorship. Live Nation Urban (LNU) is a partnership with Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s leading live entertainment company. Specifically focusing on Hip-Hop, R&B and Gospel, LNU builds platforms, events, and festivals globally and develops dynamic content strategies based upon the live properties created. Live Nation Urban considers itself the most powerful source for live urban music. For additional information, visit www.livenationurban.com.

For more information, please visit soawfestival.com.

We applaud Mary J. Blige, Pepsi, the city of Atlanta and everyone involved in bringing this fantastic festival to life!