Articles from Sundial Media & Technology Group

The ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola® returns to New Orleans July 3–5, 2026, unveiling its night-by-night Evening Concert Series lineup with newly announced performances from Babyface and Leon Thomas, joining a cross-generational mix of artists across hip-hop, R&B, soul, and funk at the Caesars Superdome. The announcement builds on previously revealed performers including Cardi B, Latto, Kehlani, Patti LaBelle, Brandy and Monica, Public Enemy, and George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic, who will celebrate 50 years of the Mothership landing in New Orleans with a collaborative performance featuring Big Boi, Scarface, Big Freedia, Nona Hendryx, and Durand Bernarr, with additional special moments to be revealed in the coming weeks.

Sundial Media & Technology Group (SMTG), a human connections platform and the parent company of iconic brands like ESSENCE and Refinery29, has appointed Amanda Butler as its first-ever Chief Marketing Officer to lead the integration and evolution of marketing strategy across SMTG's portfolio, overseeing Consumer Marketing, Communications, Creative Strategy, Insights, and evolving Content Production into a full-scale studio. Her role elevates marketing from functional support to strategic infrastructure, aligning brand, audience intelligence and revenue strategy across media, live experiences, commerce and product platforms. Butler joins SMTG at a transformative moment as the company evolves from a media powerhouse into a culture-led business ecosystem.