The Roots, Live Nation Urban, and The Mannreveal additional events, and activations at the 2023 “Roots Picnic.” Once again, this immersive experience speaks to every facet of the culture.
The weekend of festivities kicks off with a special stand-up comedy performance from Dave Chappelle and The Roots at Wells Fargo Center on Friday, June 2 . The annual festival headlined, hosted, and curated by the GRAMMY® Award-winning multiplatinum hip-hop luminaries will take over the Mann at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, PA, for two days of music, art, and culture on Saturday and Sunday, June 3-4, 2023. General admission and VIP passes are available—HERE.
This year, the festival will feature a series of must-see events, attractions, and activations across the city, headlined by the inaugural Roots Picnic Con taking place at the Logan Philadelphia Hotel Curio Collection by Hilton on June 1st. The conference will include panel discussions powered by Chase (Financial Health) and Pronghorn (Black Entrepreneurship) and will host a Roots Picnic panel featuring Roots co-founder Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Live Nation Urban President and Roots Manager Shawn Gee, and APEX CEO and Roots Picnic Festival Director Brandon Pankey. Details on the conference can be found at therootspicnic.com. Additional events include DJ Aktive Presents Chill Vibes: The Official Roots Picnic Brunch Experience presented by Dunkin’ and in partnership with Hornitos on Sunday, June 4 at Punch Line Philly featuring a menu curated by the FoodChasers; the official afterparty of the Roots Picnic, Jerk x Jollof featuring DJ sets from Uncle Waffles, Vic B, Selekta XXX, and Na$H atNOTO on Friday, June 2nd.
In addition, famed artist Al-Baseer Holly returns to the Roots Picnic for his 2ndconsecutive year featuring his “Colored” Art Exhibition and the 2nd annual Roots Picnic Spades Tournament hosted by World Series of Spades creator and comedian Clint Coley takes place in addition to other curated activations from experiential agency ASAP! Creative Management.
The festival concourse will be rounded out by the brand-new Roots Picnic food court, a CîROC and DeLeón Tequila VIP Experience Lounge, Picnic Village with local businesses and non-profits, Chase Sapphire Lounge (exclusive to Sapphire Reserve cardmembers), Love + Grit Black Business Marketplace, festival merch capsule in partnership with The Fruit Mkt. and so much more. Finding your way around the Roots Picnic this year has never been easier. As part of Snapchat’s ongoing partnership with Live Nation to enhance festivals with augmented reality, the Snapchat AR Compass of the Roots Picnic will help fans navigate the festival stages, find munchies in the food court, and meet up with friends deep in the viewing pit. The AR Compass is available only on Snapchat.
“Once again the Roots Picnic is poised for another blockbuster weekend of music and events in Philadelphia, providing one more great reason to visit our incredible city,” said Visit Philadelphia president and CEO Angela Val. “We are excited to lend a bold Philly perspective to the podcast stage through our Love + Grit podcast and support local small businesses in the Love + Grit Black Business Marketplace. The Roots Picnic is an iconic Philadelphia experience, and this year’s iteration fits seamlessly into Philly’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.”
Since launching in 2007, The Roots Picnic has stood at the crossroads of music and culture, entertaining, engaging, and enlightening millions of fans along the way. Its dynamic lineups have included everyone from The Weeknd, Pharrell, Snoop Dogg, Phantogram, Usher, Nas, A$AP Rocky, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and Future to Vampire Weekend, The War On Drugs, Gary Clark, Jr., Solange, Diplo, Gnarls Barkley, and more. “Roots Picnic” isn’t just a cornerstone of the group’s career, but a cornerstone of the culture.
This year’s Roots Picnic has been made possible with support from our partners, Google Pixel, Chase, The Mann Center, Snapchat, Cîroc, DeLeón, Monster, UberEATS, Dunkin’, Everything Legendary, and Visit Philadelphia.
LINEUP:
Usher
Ms. Lauryn Hill
Lil Uzi Vert
Dave Chappelle w/ The Roots
Soulquarians Set featuring Roy Ayers & The Isley Bros
Black Thought Live Mixtape featuring Busta Rhymes & Eve
Ari Lennox
Lucky Daye
City Girls
Maverick City
Syd
Glorilla
DJ Drama
Uncle Waffles
Saucy Santana
DVSN
Kindred The Family Soul
Spinall
State Property Reunion (Freeway, Beanie Siegel, Young Gunz, Peedi Crakk, Oschino & Sparks)
Little Brother
Yussef Dayes Experience
Adam Blackstone w/ Coco Jones & Mary Mary
Baller Alert Presents Go Go: Backyard Band vs Rare Essence
Symba
Fridayy
Mike Phillips
Rocky
Dappa
Akin Inaj & Inutech
PODCAST STAGE:
Charlamagne Tha God
Off The Record with DJ Akademiks
Don’t Call Me White Girl
Lip Service with Angela Yee
Questlove Supreme
People’s Party with Talib Kweli
Pour Minds
Trap Nerds
The Office XIV
Love + Grit
**Lineup subject to change
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