After several hiccups at last year's Essence Festival of Culture, organizers for 2026 have launched ticket sales earlier, revamped access to the popular, mini-concert Superlounge passes and promised to provide information on musical acts sooner.

The changes have come in response to criticism from festivalgoers, fans and artists after lower ticket sales and hotel bookings last year.

Early bird tickets for the July 4 weekend celebration went on sale on Tuesday for the holiday shopping season.

Only multi-day weekend packages are available so far, with the most affordable tickets starting at just over $200, and the best seats closest to the Caesars Superdome stage topping $1,900 for three days of concerts over the summer holiday weekend.

The earlier-than-usual ticket launch comes bef

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