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.
Metallica bassist Jason Newsted says he is now “free and clear” after facing throat cancer.
The 63 year old musician, who played with the Enter Sandman legends from 1986 through 2001, has shared details of his diagnosis publicly for the first time. He explained that doctors discovered it early, and on May 8, 2025 he “underwent a procedure” to treat the condition.
Speaking on the Let There Be Talk podcast, he said: “They took a bunch of s*** outta here and then they went in with lasers this way and took a bunch of s*** out.
“So the cavern inside my head is different than it was, but we got it early. And I got my ‘free and clear’ about three weeks ago. So I beat it.”
Jason contributed to several of Metallica’s most iconic releases, including 1988’s ...And Justice For All, their self titled 1991 album, 1996’s Load, the 1997 follow up Reload, and 1998’s Garage Inc.
After going through his cancer experience, the bassist made a point to slow down and actually give himself time to recover instead of constantly pushing forward.
He explained: “I promised myself I was going to rest, and that was the first time I’ve done that in my life.
"I’m usually just on or off. And so I promised myself I was gonna take the gravity off and lay down for the right amount of hours."
The health scare also led Jason to give up smoking weed and drinking alcohol, something he admits he likely would not have done otherwise.
He added: “The great spirit got my attention and said, ‘That’s not good right now, man.’ And so it pulled me off it.
"And so now I’m more clear-headed than I’ve been in my entire adult life. And so there’s blessings within everything. The lemonade I’m making this summer, bro — mm. Sweet. Ooh.”
Jason has previously said that his unexpected departure ultimately helped Metallica continue moving forward, while James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich later admitted they struggled to process his decision at the time.
Lars told Apple Music in 2021: “Jason is the only member of Metallica who has ever left willingly. And that in itself is a statistic.
"And the resentment from James and I was just so… 'You can’t do that. You can only leave if we want you to leave'.
"And then we weren’t equipped at the time to do a deep dive into why he was leaving. So of course, now you can see 20 years later, it makes complete sense.”
