Overview

• Essence Festival’s evening concert series ran over by about an hour, pushing Hill’s headlining slot to around 2:30 AM on July 5
• When Hill finally took the stage at the Caesars Superdome, only several hundred people remained of its 83,000 capacity
• Festival organizers issued an Instagram statement apologizing for the schedule overrun and stressing that Hill had arrived on time
• Hill delivered a full hour-long set that mixed songs from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill with Fugees classics and featured guest performances by her sons Zion and YG Marley
• The late-night show, performed to a sparse crowd, underscores ongoing challenges between large-scale event logistics and Hill’s reputation for tardiness