Philadelphia’s Roots Picnic 2025 is mere days away, but there’s been a major shake-up in the lineup. Headliner D’Angelo has unfortunately canceled his highly anticipated performance with The Roots. Ticket holders were saddened by the news going into Memorial Day weekend, but their frowns quickly turned upside down when his replacement was announced: fellow neo-soul legend Maxwell.
Roots Picnic organizers posted the news about the “Brown Sugar” singer across their socials this past Friday. “Due to a longer-than-expected surgical recovery, D’Angelo won’t be able to join us at Roots Picnic this year,” they shared on Instagram. The post was accompanied by a statement from D’Angelo, who referenced a “medical delay,” expressed his disappointment and thanked fans for still rocking with him.
Thankfully there’s a lot of overlap between D’Angelo’s and Maxwell’s fanbases, so the switchroo isn’t as jarring as it could have been. Currently in the midst of The Serenade 2025 tour, Max stays ready, so he was a natural choice to step in as a headliner. This is a boon for Maxwell lovers who will have multiple opportunities to see him live in concert this year and next, including at the 2025 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture, The Silent Serenade Ensemble and on the high seas on his Urban Hang Suite Cruise 2026.
Life as a D’Angelo fan ain’t no crystal stair, however. The reclusive artist releases music and makes appearances on his own timetable. When he unexpectedly surfaced earlier this year in Questlove’s Sly Stone doc Sly Lives! (AKA The Burden Of Black Genius) then followed that up with news that he’d be headlining this year’s Roots Picnic in performance with The Roots, jaws dropped and we just knew that it was time for another big comeback to rival his 2014 return with Black Messiah. While a comeback may still be on the table – D’Angelo confirmed he’s “currently in the Lab & can’t wait to serve Up what’s in the Pot” – we’ll simply have to exercise a lot more patience.
While we await D’Angelo’s next music move, don’t wait to attend Roots Picnic 2025 in Philadelphia this weekend (Saturday, May 31st and Sunday, June 1st). In addition to Maxwell, festivalgoers will get to experience one-of-a-kind performances by Lenny Kravitz, Musiq Soulchild, Miguel, Raheem DeVaughn, Kaytranada, Tems and many more artists spanning multiple genres. View the daily lineup of artists and activities on the flyer below and visit the Roots Picnic website to scoop up any remaining tickets.
