The Roots Picnic is back, expands to three days
This year, a comedy show and concert at the Wells Fargo Center precedes two days at the Mann Center.
The Roots Picnic will return to the Mann Center on June 3 and 4 with headlining sets by Diddy with the Roots, Ms. Lauryn Hill performing her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and Philadelphia rapper Lil Uzi Vert.
This year, the Picnic kicks off Friday night, June 2, with a comedy show and concert with Dave Chappelle and the Roots at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia.
The two-day festival will then get underway Saturday on multiple stages on the Mann’s campus in Fairmount Park. There will be separate ticketing and admission for the Wells Fargo and Mann Center events.
The line-up for the hip-hop and R&B festival presented by the Roots with Live Nation Urban, includes a podcast stage featuring Charlamagne Tha God, DJ Academiks, Questlove Supreme, Don’t Call Me White Girl, and People’s Party with Talib Kweli.
Besides the headliners, the Picnic will feature a set by Soulquarians, the all-star band anchored by Roots drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson with guests Roy Ayers and the Isley Brothers.
For this year’s Black Thought Live Mixtape, Roots rapper Tariq Trotter will be joined by Philadelphia rapper Eve, and Busta Rhymes, who stole the show at the Grammys’ 50th anniversary of hip-hop tribute orchestrated by Questlove and the Roots.
Other featured acts include R&B singers Ari Lennox, Lucky Daye, and DVSN. The Picnic will see a reunion of Philly hip-hop crew State Property with Beanie Sigel, Freeway, Young Guns, Moschino, and Peedi Crakk. Then there will be the Grammy-sweeping gospel group Maverick City, Miami rap duo City Girls, and rising Memphis rhymer Glorilla.
» READ MORE: Review: Roots Picnic’s return is a triumph, with Mary J. Blige and more
Alt-R&B vocalist and songwriter Syd will perform, as will Philly bassist and bandleader Adam Blackstone with guests Coco Jones and Mary Mary. A Go Go showcase with Backyard Band and Rare Essence, and Philly acts Fridayy, DJ Drama, and Kindred the Family Soul are also on the bill.
A Roots fan club presale for the both the Chappelle show and the Picnic at the Mann will begin at noon Feb. 21 at therootspicnic.com, with tickets opening to the general public at the same site at 10 a.m. Feb. 22.
The Roots Picnic was founded in 2007 and made its home on Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing until 2018. It expanded to the Mann in 2019, more than doubling in size. After two years as a virtual-only event due to COVID-19, it returned as a two-day event last year, attracting close to 30,000 per day.
The Roots have a long history with Chappelle, who was harshly criticized for jokes he made during a 2021 Netflix special that many considered transphobic. The group served as backing band on the 2005 Michel Gondry-directed movie Chappelle’s Block Party, and the comic was slated to headline the Picnic in 2018 but never got to perform after the festival was cut short due to weather.
Hill is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her classic 1998 solo debut album, which along with OutKast’s Speakerboxxx / The Love Below is still the only hip-hop album to win an album of the year Grammy. The Roots set with Diddy will be in keeping with the career highlight performances that the band has previously staged with artists like Mary J. Blige and Pharrell Williams.
The Picnic announcement is a big weekend addition to a Mann Center summer calendar that is rapidly filling up. Notable shows include Charlie Puth on June 13, James Taylor on July 1, Kane Brown on July 8, Noel Gallagher & Garbage on July 14, Amos Lee on July 20, Phish on July 25 and 26, Mt. Joy on Aug. 12 and 13, and the Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie on Sept. 21.