Carl Thomas to Debut New Music at Essence Festival

Carl Thomas is going to be performing in the Essence Music Festival and, even though he’s got fans who are eager to hear him sing, he’s also excited to be a spectator. He says:  "I'm always looking forward to catching Mary J. Blige's show. It's just a blessing to be there under one roof with so much talent and so much God-given inspiration and energy."

The event, which takes place from July 5-8, 2012, is a big part of New Orleans’ summer and Thomas feels that he’s just the artist to help set the mood.  "[My performance] makes you feel that way no matter what time of year," he says. "When I'm performing, my set just kinda has that summertime appeal to it, even if we're performing in January. So it can't help but to be in line with the summer theme."

He goes on to explain how artists are chosen to perform at the annual festival:  "If you're invited to perform at the Essence Festival, it usually means that the audience is in love with you as an artist and not just your catalog. So the Essence Festival offers an opportunity for artists to somewhat deviate and step away from their catalog at times."

The best part about seeing Thomas perform this year?  New material.  He says: "I will be giving them sneak peeks of things that are gonna be on future projects. I think that's part of the live stage experience."

He may not be as popular as some other household names but the man definitely does have talent.  One of his songs, “I Wish” has been on my iPod for almost 10 years.  Have a listen and you will see why: