The first day of the Roots 2024 picnic included food, fun and a phenomenal performance by legendary artists

This past weekend, The Legendary Roots Crew hosted and co-founded the largest edition of Roots Picnic to this point at The Mann in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. The event, which gathered over 60,000 participants throughout the weekend, exceeded all expectations and is one of the most anticipated festivals in the city of brotherly love.

Before the music began, the sold-out festivities began on Friday, May 31, with the return of the second annual Roots Picnic Con at the Fillmore Philadelphia. The conference included panel discussions from The Recording Academy, Cannabis Workers Union, Live Nation, Phor Essentials and featured panelists resembling Questlove, Marsha Ambrosius and many others. That evening, Black Thought returned together with his stand-up special “Black Thought Presents Delirious” at Punchline Philly, which featured surprise appearances from comedians from across the country.

Additional events leading as much as the concert series included Houses of Luv & Philly Black Pride’s inaugural Roots Picnic LGBTQ+ Pride Party at the Foundry on Thursday, May 30, and the Roots Picnic Kickoff Party at the Brooklyn Bowl the following evening.

On June 1, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro presented The Roots with a proclamation recognizing their contributions to the arts, arts education and the economy of the City of Philadelphia. The picnic began around 1 p.m. and featured plenty of amazing performances throughout the three stages. The Centennial Stage hosted live acts and podcasts throughout the day, while the Presser Stage featured performances by October London, Smino and Sexxy Red.

Saturday featured an unprecedented mix of hip-hop and R&B on the Fairmount Stage, where audiences saw J.Period, Black Thought, Method Man and Redman welcome FERG, Amir Ali, ReeCee, E.Ness, Freeway and Common to stage as special guests during the joint J. Period Live Mixtape set. The-Dream then performed some of his hits resembling “Fancy”, “I Luv Your Girl” and “Falsetto”. Later in the evening, Nas lit up the stage with songs from his 1994 debut album Illmatic and welcomed Ghostface Killah to the stage for his electrifying performance.

To close out the night, the influential Jill Scott, coming off the heels of a massive twentieth anniversary tour celebrating the release of her groundbreaking debut album, sang some of her biggest hits and made a surprise debut of her latest song “Norf Philly” featuring Tierra Whack.

In addition to the phenomenal music selection, Roots Picnic also showcased some of the area’s best cuisine. Doordash Food Village featured places like Bake ‘N Bacon, Down North Pizza, Oh Brother Philly, Federal Donuts & Chicken and many more.

In between sets, attendees could also experience elegant activations from brands resembling Stella Artois, Smirnoff Ice, Dunkin’ Donuts and Jack Daniels, amongst others. The Chase Sapphire Lounge was extremely popular, and Grand Marnier celebrated the start of summer with an immersive festival experience where guests enjoyed live performances, cooling stations, photo ops and the company’s signature cocktail, the Grand Margarita.

After the huge success of the first day of Roots Picnic, fans were looking forward to Sunday’s event, which featured inspiring performances from local legends and era-defining artists.