Roots Picnic bounced back in 2022, and they’re returning for 2023 even bigger than ever. Now in its 16th year, the music festival created by The Roots has grown from its humble beginnings in their hometown of Philadelphia. What started as a one-day event with a handful of artists performing on a single stage at Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing has exploded into a two-day extravaganza with over 50 performers held at The Mann in Fairmount Park with the new addition of a third day to kick the whole weekend off this year.
Taking place from Friday, June 2nd through Sunday, June 4th, the 2023 Roots Picnic will begin with a comedy night at Wells Fargo Center headlined by controversy-courting, music-loving comedian Dave Chappelle. Once Dave tickles your funny bone on Friday night, rest up for the remainder of the weekend because the lineup is a doozy.
Amongst the dozens of artists scheduled to hit one of the multiple stages over the course of Saturday and Sunday are headliners Ms. Lauryn Hill and Diddy. Ms. Hill will be there to blaze the stage with a live celebration of the 25th anniversary of her classic solo debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which was released on August 25, 1998. In a rare music festival appearance, Brother Love will rock the mic backed by The Roots. Knowing Diddy, he’ll probably have a few special guests join him in his quest to save R&B.
The genre will be well represented at Roots Picnic, though, by a cavalcade of talent. Ari Lennox, Lucky Daye, Syd, dvsn, Kindred the Family Soul and Fridayy are all on board as well as elder statesmen of soul music The Isley Brothers and Roy Ayers, who’ve been tapped for the Soulquarians Icon set.
Other highlights include Philly’s own Adam Blackstone bringing a fusion of R&B, jazz and gospel with special guests Mary Mary and Coco Jones; GRAMMY Award-winning gospel group Maverick City; saxophone maestro Mike Phillips and go-go bands Rare Essence and Backyard Band.
Of course, a Roots Picnic wouldn’t be a Roots Picnic without hip-hop, and Black Thought and Questlove have invited many of their rap comrades to rock the mic and DJs to move the crowd. Philadelphia superstar Lil Uzi Vert will be on hand and prepare for pandemonium when his viral hit “Just Wanna Rock” is performed. He won’t be the only one setting it off, with Eve, Busta Rhymes, Little Brother, City Girls, Saucy Santana, GloRilla and a State Property reunion featuring Beanie Sigel, Freeway, Young Gunz, Peedi Crakk and Oschino & Sparks to look forward to.
Turntable masters DJ Drama, J.Period, DJ Aktive, DJ Diamond Kuts, Uncle Waffles and SPINALL will be in the mix throughout Roots Picnic Weekend. On top of all this good music to be had and heard, if attendees can tear themselves away from the performances, there’ll once again be a Podcast Stage showcasing some of the most popular pods and personalities, including Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee, Talib Kweli and, of course, Questlove Supreme.
Make plans to kick Black Music Month off in Philly at the 2023 Roots Picnic with a few hundred thousand fellow music lovers, movers and shakers. Tickets to both the opening night comedy show and the weekend festival are on sale now at early-bird rates with hotel packages and VIP packages also available for purchase. Get your coins and credit cards together, and head to the Roots Picnic website for more information and buy tickets.
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