The Roots Picnic will mark its first in-person event since 2019 on June 4 and 5 at the Mann Center at Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. The fest will feature a headlining set from Mary J. Blige and the Roots, who will share the stage for the first time.
The stacked lineup also features appearances from Summer Walker, Wizkid, Kirk Franklin, Jazmine Sullivan, Yebba, Tierra Whack, Mickey Guyton, Chief Keef, Muni Long, J Period Live Mixtape featuring Black Thought, Rick Ross, G Herbo, Masego, Serpentwithfeet, and more.
“After a long two years, we are excited to announce the return of the Roots Picnic to Philly with two days of music and culture at the Mann at Fairmount Park,” Shawn Gee, President of Live Nation Urban, Roots manager, and Roots Picnic co-founder, shared in a statement. “This year, Black Thought, Questlove and I attempted to curate a lineup that broke through the genre barriers that often separate us in black culture. To be able to book Mickey Guyton, Kirk Franklin, G Herbo, Wizkid, Wallo & Gillie, and Mary J Blige on the same lineup was a dream come true.”
The 2022 iteration of the event brings a bigger lineup for a bigger stage as Roots Picnic returns to Fairmount Park for the second time since launching in 2007. When it was first held there in 2019, it represented the original vision for the festival: summer afternoons in the park watching Philly DJs spin a soundtrack to the culture. Prior to the move, Roots Picnic found a home at Festival Pier.
Tickets go on sale on Friday, with presale tickets available beginning on Tuesday. The event will also be streamed live on the Roots’ official YouTube channel.
NEWS
Brad Paisley has called Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding “one of the least pretentious weddings he’s ever seen”.
The country star attended the ceremony alongside his actress wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley. They joined around 1,000 guests at New York City’s Madison Square Garden earlier this month as the global pop icon married the American football star.
Although the celebration attracted enormous attention and involved tight security and a stunning makeover of the famous arena, Paisley said the occasion never came across as excessive.
“Ironically, (it) was one of the least pretentious weddings that I've ever seen or ever will see,” Paisley told The Associated Press during an interview. “It meant a lot to be (invited). It was, kind of, a big thank you from her to invite us.”
Paisley, who chose Swift as an opening performer for his tour when she was a teenager in 2007, said he was delighted to be included in what many considered the biggest celebrity wedding of the year.
“They were very clear with the invite, and I took this personally when I got the invite, because in the invite, it said, ‘If you're getting this, you mean a lot to us,’” he revealed.
The musician also explained that guests were not told the wedding’s exact location until the date drew nearer.
“It was really fun to watch the cat and mouse game of, like, ‘We can tell you roughly where it's going to be, we're not gonna say what building... and here's the date. If you're in, we'll tell you more,’” he continued. “I went to my wife, I said, ‘Want to go?’ and she said, ‘Absolutely, we gotta be there!’ So, we did it, it was RSVP yes.”
Other famous attendees included Brad Pitt, Gigi Hadid, Bradley Cooper, Ed Sheeran, Sabrina Carpenter, Hugh Grant, Haim and Tom Hanks.
