MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA. (Top40 Charts) OZY Media today announced that OZY Fest, its one-of-a-kind festival of great entertainment, interactive experiences and big conversations, will return on May 15-16 as a virtual event, after the 2020 festival was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Headliners 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 festival will be livestreamed to the
Carlos Watson Show YouTube Channel, presented by OZY Media.
OZY Fest brings together the game-changers and change-makers who are ahead of their time and worthy of yours for a virtual celebration of bold change and big ideas. The festival has previously been held in New York City's Central Park with guests including John Legend, Trevor Noah, Issa Rae, Padma Lakshmi and Joe Biden, and has been described as "TED meets Coachella" and "New York's answer to SXSW" for its unmatched blend of thought leadership and entertainment.
The virtual festival will be streamed live, with two simultaneous virtual stages between 5pm and 9pm ET offering a combination of live music and comedy performance, thought leadership, and interactive programming. VIP tickets are available for purchase allowing access to exclusive interactive virtual offerings. OZY Fest's partnership with new live social media platform Clubhouse will 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 it hopes to host conversations to reimagine how democracy, racial justice, education and more should work in the 21st century. 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. UNCF CEO, Dr. Michael Lomax, is featured among OZY Fest headliners.
"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."
OZY Fest is brought to you by Chevrolet and American Family Insurance. It is produced by OZY Media in partnership with YouTube, Twitter, Clubhouse and iHeartRadio. For a full list of headliners and information about how to register for tickets or purchase VIP passes, head to www.ozyfest.com.
OZY is a next-generation media and entertainment company that aims to help curious people see the world more broadly and more boldly by introducing them to "the New and the Next" — narratives that defy convention, change perspectives, and ignite ideas. Beginning as a digital magazine in 2013, OZY has evolved into a modern media company, featuring award-winning podcasts, 100,000-person festivals, and Emmy-winning TV series with leading networks, including A+E, HISTORY, Lifetime, Amazon, Hulu, OWN, PBS, and BBC. Led by journalist and TV host
Carlos Watson and co-founder Samir Rao, OZY is based in Mountain View, California, and backed by leading Silicon Valley investors such as Emerson Collective, Marc Lasry, and Tom Franco. Learn more at OZY.com. Follow OZY on Twitter at twitter.com/ozy, Facebook at facebook.com/ozy, and Instagram at instagram.com/ozy.
