OZY Fest will return in a virtual format this year for two days of music, entertainment, and stimulating conversations on May 15th and 16th. The event, organized by OZY Media, will stream for free via the Carlos Watson Show YouTube Channel.
Headliners for the interdisciplinary virtual summit, which typically takes place in person in New York’s Central Park, include musicians Chance the Rapper, Sevyn Streeter, Big Freedia, Marc Rebillet, and Kat Cunning; comedians Tig Notaro, Maz Jobrani, and Aida Rodriguez; chefs Marcus Samuelsson, Tom Colicchio, and Ming Tsai; thought leaders Dr. Anthony Fauci, Mark Cuban, Condoleezza Rice, Malcolm Gladwell, Jim Cramer, Revd. Al Sharpton, Deepak Chopra, Rep. Maxine Waters, Sunny Hostin, Alicia Garza, Marcus Scribner, Sophia Chang, DeRay Mckesson, Carmen Yulín Cruz, Adam Grant, Katty Kay, Matt James, Valerie Jarrett, Dr. Michael Lomax, Mariana van Zeller, Dr. Danielle Moss, Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr., Angela Benton, and Carlos Watson; and sports figures Michael Vick, Stephen A. Smith, and CC Sabathia.
The virtual festival will be streamed live, with two simultaneous virtual stages operating between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. ET offering a combination of live music and comedy performances, thought leadership, and interactive programming. VIP tickets are available for purchase and will allow access to exclusive interactive virtual offerings. OZY Fest’s partnership with new live social media platform Clubhouse will also seek to break new ground, employing the app’s private chat functionality to host VIP meet-and-greets in an intimate, audio-only setting.
“We are so excited to be bringing OZY Fest back,” says OZY COO and co-founder Samir Rao. “Virtual events and festivals have been hit and miss over the trying past year, but OZY Fest is going to take things to the next level, with the most interactive virtual experience of all time. OZY Fest won’t disappoint if you’re as tired of Zoom as we are.”
The theme of OZY Fest 2021 is “Reset America,” with organizers saying that they aim to gear conversations toward how to “reimagine how democracy, racial justice, education and more should work in the 21st century.” To further bolster that goal, OZY Media is partnering with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to provide free access to all current students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and to donate proceeds from VIP ticket sales to UNCF.
“It’s a privilege to be partnering with UNCF to make an impact with OZY Fest this year,” says Carlos Watson, OZY CEO and co-founder, and host of The Carlos Watson Show. “I have said before that the 2020s will be the new 1960s, and OZY will play its role in facilitating some of the most important conversations about where we turn next as a society.”
See below for the full virtual 2021 OZY Fest lineup. For more information, to register for tickets, or to purchase VIP passes, head here.
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