Just when you thought this year’s ESSENCE Fest couldn’t get any more exciting, one of the funniest voices in Hollywood has now been added to our already star-studded lineup!
ESSENCE Festival 2017 ticket packages are on sale now! For more info about tickets, accommodations and the latest news, visit our Festival page here.
Joining us at the 2017 ESSENCE Festival for the very first time, comedic actor and television personality Roy Wood Jr. will take to the Superdowm Mainstage as host for our all-star evening concerts. Although he is currently keeping viewers informed and laughing as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Roy is no stranger to the entertainment industry. After graduating from Florida A&M University, where he worked as student news reporter and comedian, he landed his first official industry gig as the head writer/producer for the Buckwilde Morning Show in his hometown of Birmingham, AL in 2001.
He later went on to spend over 15 years on Urban radio between Alabama and Atlanta. To date, he’s also been featured on Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, the Late Show with Stephen Colbert and is a regular guest on a number of ESPN programs. His prank calls can still be heard nationally on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show & Tom Joyner Show. Most recently, Roy’s debut hour-long special, Father Figure, premiered on Comedy Central this past February.
Speaking on his upcoming ESSENCE Festival hosting gig, Roy says he’s very much looking forward to the opportunity.
“The Essence Festival is a cultural institution that spans all generations of music and music lovers,” he told ESSENCE in a statement. “To have the ESSENCE family welcome me into this sacred circle of entertainment is an honor I do not take lightly. I look forward to New Orleans in July and doing everything in my power to not die of heat stroke.”
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Be sure to grab your ticket packages or single night tickets now to see Roy Wood Jr. bring the laughs, alongside more of the biggest names in entertainment, at the 2017 ESSENCE Festival in New Orleans this July!