US Festival Defends Lauryn Hill After Late Performance: 'The Delay? Not Hers'
“Let’s be very clear—WE don’t play about Ms. Lauryn Hill. Not for clicks. Not for headlines.”
Lauryn Hill @ HBF Stadium, Perth (Credit: Georgia Head)
The American multi-day music event, Essence Festival, has defended Ms. Lauryn Hill after she took to the stage at 2:30 a.m. to a near-empty stadium on Saturday (5 July). Variety reports that her set ended at 3:37 a.m.
The 2025 Essence Festival of Culture took place at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans from 4-6 July, and was plagued with delays from its opening night, which affected acts such as GloRilla and the Isley Brothers, who performed an hour after their scheduled set time was set to begin.
Hill was added to the line-up just days before the festival began. Her set included classics like Doo Wop (That Thing), Killing Me Softly With His Song, and the Fugees numbers Ready Or Not and Fu-Gee-La. She also welcomed her sons, YG Marley and Zion Marley, and performed alongside them.
Defending Hill by stating that the delayed performance was not her fault, Essence Festival organisers wrote in a statement posted to social media earlier today (8 July), “Family is family and around here we protect our own no matter what the PEOPLE have to say.
“Let’s be very clear—WE don’t play about Ms. Lauryn Hill. Not for clicks. Not for headlines.”
They continued, “She arrived on schedule, stepped on that stage, and delivered the kind of performance only a legend can.
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“The delay? Not hers. We will take that. The moment? One for the books. The legacy? Still unmatched.
“Put some respect on her name. Keep the takes, but keep her out of them. All love and deep, profound admiration for Ms. Lauryn Hill.”
Hill has a reputation for arriving late on stage for her shows, including in Australia. During her 2019 tour, she took to the stage an hour and 15 minutes after the scheduled time in Sydney. She also arrived on stage well after the scheduled time for her Bluesfest 2018 performance.
Ms. Lauryn Hill returned to Australia in 2023 for the 25th anniversary of her iconic album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Following her headline set at the Promiseland festival on the Gold Coast, Hill performed at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena and Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena. She was joined by special guests Sampa The Great and Show Dem Camp.
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