This summer, the hip-hop/soul singer is slated to perform at New Orleans’ Essence Music Festival. She’ll be joined by Missy Elliott, Solomon Burke, Gladys Knight and more for the event, which takes place over Independence Day weekend.

With more than a decade of hits under her belt, Blige refuses to rest. She recently won a Grammy for her collaboration with Sting, and she’s expanding her repertoire this month with her first ever stage acting performance. Her theatre debut in the off-Broadway play “The Exonerated” runs through the end of February.

For Love & Life, her sixth studio full-length, Blige reunited with producer P. Diddy who, incidentally, has some drama of his own in store. The artist formerly known as Puffy will be appearing on Broadway this spring in a production of “A Raisin In The Sun.”