WASHINGTON, DC (February 14, 2020) — The Kennedy Center, BONDVISION Media, and BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ collaborate to co-produce the second annual BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Festival™ (BGR!FEST™), an immersive multi-day live experience curated to celebrate the cultural contributions of Black women artists, thought leaders, and creatives. The festival, spanning four days, will take place during International Women’s Day weekend, March 5-8 across the Kennedy Center campus.
Celebrity DJ, CEO, and founder of BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Beverly Bond established BGR!FEST™ as a complementary platform to the BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ brand to further its mission to create spaces for black women-centered content. A full-spirited and empowering celebration of Black Girl Magic, the second annual BGR!FEST™ will encompass a mix of concerts, secret shows, panel discussions, and free daytime programming featuring groundbreaking women.
Highlights include: the BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Concert Series featuring multi-GRAMMY® Award-winning vocalist, emcee and icon Ms. Lauryn Hill who will headline the event on March 6 and 7 with opening sets by powerhouse vocalist Alice Smith; the BLACK GIRLS ROCK!® Unplugged “Secret Shows,” a series of intimate late-night concerts with surprise performers in the Kennedy Center’s new Club at Studio K; BLACK GIRLS ROCK!® WHO ROCKS NEXT Millennium Stage performances by vocalist Victory Boyd and west coast emcee ill Camille; BLACK GIRLS ROCK!® FEST EMPOWERMENT SPEAKER SERIES featuring NAACP Image Award winner and “Power” actress Naturi Naughton; #MeToo founder Tarana Burke; chief brand officer at MACRO, Stacey Walker King; CEO/Founder of Salter Financial Management LLC, Toi Salter; former NASA deep space engineer and founder of virtual reality streaming platform CEEK.COM, Mary Spio; cannabis evangelist and entrepreneur Mary Pryor; and CEO/founder of Because of Them We Can, Eunique Jones Gibson; and the BLACK GIRLS ROCK!® International Women’s Day Closing Party and Jam Session featuring BLACK GIRLS ROCK! CEO and celebrity DJ Beverly Bond and friends.
The festival will also feature an exclusive special edition of the BLACK GIRLS LEAD Empowerment Circle at Duke Ellington School of the Arts featuring discussions with, artist activist Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh, and 2020 BGR!FEST™ performer Victory Boyd. This event is private and closed to the public.
CEO and producer Beverly Bond says “I am thrilled to present BGR!FEST™ in conjunction with The Kennedy Center for the second year during International Women’s Day Weekend. BLACK GIRLS ROCK! continues to grow organically and exponentially, celebrating sisterhood, solidarity, culture and advancing black women’s contributions to the world. The annual BGR!FEST™ in Washington, DC is another pillar in the BLACK GIRLS ROCK! network to showcase and uplift groundbreaking women who stretch the boundaries of creativity, artistic expression and innovation, adding to the tapestry of our collective magic.”
Simone Eccleston, Director of Hip Hop Culture and Contemporary Music at the Kennedy Center says, “It’s a tremendous honor for us to continue to collaborate with BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™—it serves as such an important platform for centering and elevating the stories of Black women.”
The four-day event will take place during International Women’s Day Weekend and will serve as one of the premiere global destination events to celebrate the voices of women around the world. Last year’s inaugural sold out festival featured an all-star lineup of Black girl magic including Jazmine Sullivan, MC Lyte, Elle Varner, Rapsody, Leela James, Mumu Fresh, Be’la Dona Band, and LEIKELI47.
Additional artists, speakers, and events to be announced. General tickets are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased via the Kennedy Center box office at (202) 467-4600, through the Kennedy Center website at www.blackgirlsrock.com.