Second Year For Road To Essence

BENTONVILLE -- Ricky Bell, Michael Bivens and Ronnie DeVoe were excited to bring their music to an area that the three had never been before.

The trio known as BBD (Bell Biv and DeVoe) were the final act to perform Saturday night at the final concert for the Road to Essence.

Chrisette Michelle is a Grammy Award-winning R&B and soul singer-songwriter. She won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2009 for her song “Be OK.” She will also featured on the upcoming season of “R&B Divas Los Angeles.”

Chante Moore is an R&B and jazz singer and is also featured on the reality show “R&B Divas: Los Angeles.”

Bell Biv DeVoe is the R&B and hip-hop group that branched off from New Edition. The trio’s album “Poison” achieved triple platinum success.

Marsha Ambrosius is a platinum-selling artist from Liverpool, England.

MC Lyte is a rapper who first gained fame in the late 1980s becoming the first solo female rapper to release a full album with 1988’s “Lyte as a Rock.”

The group had performed in Little Rock on several occasions, but had never been in another portion of the state.

"We have never been to this side of the state," Bivens said. "It feels good to be here. We are going to give it our all when we get on stage."

Devoe said they have performed at five Essence festivals in New Orleans.

Bell said they love performing at the festival because people across the country come and then there's performers like Charlie Wilson, Kanye West, Beyonce and more. "There's nothing like being able to play at Essence," Bell said.

The three are also members of New Edition, along with Ralph Tresvant, Johnny Gill and Bobby Brown. They not only performed material from BBD, but also a few of New Edition's classic songs. They closed the show with BBD's hit song, Poison.

R&B artists Chante Moore, Chrisette Michelle, and Marsha Ambrosius also performed during the event. MC Lyte served as the host.

"I'm excited about being here to be here for a free event for the community," Michelle said prior to taking the stage.

Michelle said she has performed at four Essence Festivals. "The most exciting one was performing with Patti LaBelle," Michelle said.

Michelle said she's a strong supporter of Essence and Walmart.

Essence Magazine is one of Walmart's media partners and it is the eighth year for Walmart to be involved with the Essence Festival and the second for an event to be held in Bentonville, said Sharonda Britton, the director of media and strategic partnerships at Walmart.

Vanessa Bush, the editor and chief of Essence, said it is the 20th anniversary of the first Essence Festival in New Orleans.

Bentonville was one and the final stop for the Road to Essence which also included concerts in Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas, according to the tour's website.

Bentonville served as the only stop last year, according to Bush.

Bush also came to last year's concert. "You can see the growth in the area," Bush said. "It seems to be the perfect place to end the Road to Essence."

Bush said the response from last year's Bentonville concert was so incredible that they decided this year to add other stops to the tour.

The artists that performed last year including Maxwell and Trey Songz were "blown away" by the warm reception that they received. "The music reaches all different people and the reception they received made them want to come back," Bush said.

The tour concludes with the annual Essence Festival in New Orleans on July 3-6.

Leo Sanders and his wife, Debra, stood outside Tiger Stadium about three hours before the starting time for the Road to Essence.

Sanders said he and his wife are going to the festival in New Orleans for the first time. Prince will be the headline act, Sanders. said.

"We just want to get a little taste of the Essence today," Sanders said of Saturday's free event.

Sanders said he was looking forward to seeing Bell Biv DeVoe and Chante Moore. He was also hoping for a few surprise performers.

Sanders said he and his wife went to last year's concert in Orchards Park and they really enjoyed the event.

"I learned last year that you might want to get here early to get a good seat," Sanders said. "I didn't want to worry about finding a parking spot. I just wanted to come and enjoy the music."

Leon Johnson of Pine Bluff said he heard about the concert and could not believe it was going to be in Bentonville. "Someone mentioned the concert to me and I didn't believe it at first," Johnson said. "I decided to make the drive up here to see it."

Johnson said he was looking forward to seeing Bell Biv Devoe.

Qera Conner of Springdale said she missed last year's concert, and she was excited to see Chrissette Michelle and Chante Moore.

NW News on 06/02/2014

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