Lauryn Hill’s headline set at the Essence Festival of Culture did not begin until 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, 5 July, almost two hours after its scheduled time, following cascading delays that affected the event’s opening-night lineup at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome. The Grammy-winning artist performed for roughly an hour, closing at 3:37 a.m., by which point only several hundred spectators remained in a venue that seats more than 80,000. Festival organisers issued a statement on 6 July taking full responsibility for the schedule slippage, saying Hill had arrived on time and delivered “the kind of performance only a legend can.” Technical difficulties and an over-packed roster that included GloRilla, the Isley Brothers, Babyface and Maxwell had pushed every act behind, culminating in Hill’s predawn appearance. In a subsequent Instagram post on 9 July, Hill thanked the festival for acknowledging fault and rejected what she called the “nonsense” narrative that she is indifferent to punctuality. The 50-year-old musician said this was the first time a promoter had publicly accepted blame for production problems that made her appear late, and she vowed not to shoulder such criticism unchallenged in future. The incident has intensified scrutiny of the 31-year-old festival’s logistics. Singer Stephanie Mills, who performed two nights later, released an open letter on 8 July describing “operational deficiencies” that she said marred multiple sets and calling for a review of scheduling, backstage management and sound systems. Festival officials have said they are assessing feedback from artists and attendees.