FOLLOWS ANNOUNCEMENT OF MAXWELL’S HEADLINING SET IN PLACE OF D’ANGELO
TAKING PLACE ON MAY 31 & JUNE 1, 2025 AT THE MANN IN FAIRMOUNT PARK – PHILADELPHIA, PA
“Hip-Hop’s Greatest Festival” – ROLLING STONE
“one of the most heartfelt dedications to the breadth of Black music” – BILLBOARD
“exists in a lane all of its own” – ESSENCE
Today, GRAMMY® Award-winning multi-platinum hip-hop luminaries The Roots and Live Nation Urban announce the official set times for Roots Picnic 2025, taking place at The Mann in Fairmount Park on Saturday, May 31st and Sunday, June 1st. All tickets, including weekend passes and VIP packages, are available HERE.
Last week the festival announced that three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning multi-platinum artist Maxwell will perform after R&B titan D’Angelo, shared with fans he was unable to perform due to health reasons. Boasting another dynamic lineup uniting generational voices with some of the hottest influential rising acts, the festival will also see epic performances from 4x GRAMMY Award-winning artist and all-around multi-hyphenate icon Lenny Kravitz, Philadelphia legend Meek Mill, and Memphis raptress GloRilla. Known as a spirited hub of boundless collaboration and unfettered creativity, the festival will bring together more icons from across the globe including Tems, Latto, Kaytranada, Jeezy, Pusha T, 2 Chainz, Musiq Soulchild, Kur, Elmiene, Jagged Edge, Backyard Band featuring CeeLo Green, Crystal Waters, Lay Banks, and Laila!.
In addition to high-octane performances each day, Roots Picnic will keep the party going all weekend with a newly established day party lineup. Attendees can catch their favorite DJs and dance into the night with the likes of Trap Karaoke, Chill Vibes featuring DJ Active, Doo-Wop …That R&B Party, Dear Summer Festival, Kirk Franklin’s Sunday School w/ DJ Mal-Ski, Philly Black Pride, and more.
Off the stage, Roots Picnic has also curated a remarkable lineup of food vendors, providing a selection of delicious, mouth-watering local flavors for the two-day event. Philadelphia food talent set to offer their delicious cuisine at the 2025 Roots Picnic include the Best of Philly Award winning, Southern-style favorite AMINA, local food personality Saudia Shuler’s soul food staple Country Cookin, and 2022 Industry Gala Award winner, 2020 VBPHS Mentor of the Year, and 2025 Verizon Northeast Region SMDR Advocate Boomer’s Kitchen and Catering, among many others. In an effort to spotlight local black food, Roots Picnic has been utilizing its social media channels to promote these local food entrepreneurs, enabling them to connect with new customers and showcase the food they will offer at Roots Picnic. To see the full food lineup – click HERE.
Prior to Roots Picnic, the incredible weekend kicked off with Root Picnic Con, making its return for a third year on Friday, May 30th. The annual conference featured conversations and panels across music education, financial literacy, tech, health and wellness, and more. This year’s panels, powered by Starz, Everytown for Gun Safety, SEIU, The Recording Academy, and more, featured the star of the hit television show “BMF” Da’Vinchi, musical artist Laila!, SEIU President April Verrett, Black Music Action Coalition Co-Founder and President Willie “Prophet” Stiggers and more. There was also a special closing keynote conversation between director, writer, and producer Malcolm D. Lee focusing on his new book, The Best Man Unfinished Business and Tarik “Black Thought” Trotter discussing his book, The Upcycled Self.
Live Nation Urban‘s LGBTQ+ platform, “Houses of Luv,” and Philadelphia native, ballroom icon, LGTBIAQ Hall of Famer, and Vice President of Philly Black Pride, Jacen Bowman, are bring back Roots Picnic Pride for its second year, expanding its celebration of Black queer artistry and community and featuring a dynamic pre-event and on-site ballroom showcase, highlighting the vibrant intersection of hip-hop, Black culture, and ballroom. The festivities begin with the 2nd annual Roots Picnic Pride Soiree, taking place on Friday, May 30th, at Warehouse on Watts, followed by an exhilarating mini-ballroom showcase on Saturday, May 31st, highlighting the vibrant intersectionality of house, ballroom, hip-hop, and dance. Tickets/RSVP for Roots Picnic Pride Soiree HERE.
Roots Picnic continues to be one of the summer’s most highly anticipated festivals and a celebration of Philadelphia’s robust music scene. Over the years, it’s been named one of UPROXX’s “Best Festivals For Hip-Hop Fans Of Any Generation” and crowned as “a major staple within the Black community.” Billboard included the Roots Picnic in their Top 50 Music Festivals round-up, and perhaps BET put it best: “the two-day event proves why hip hop is such a regenerative force of nature.”
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 Lil Wayne, 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.
About Live Nation Urban
Live Nation Urban (LNU) remains North America’s preeminent producer of concert experiences, festivals, and platforms headlined, curated, and owned by black talent. Operating in partnership with Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s leading live entertainment company, the company sets the tone for culture with over a dozen sought-after festival brands such as Roots Picnic, Broccoli City, Exodus Music & Arts Festival, ONE Musicfest, Strength of a Woman, and more.
Beyond their captivating live events, Live Nation Urban has established themselves as key social architects in black culture with their innovative initiatives that include Juneteenth: A Global Celebration (broadcast on CNN), Kerry Washington’s THICKER THAN WATER book tour, and a special Hip-Hop 50 event at the home of Vice President Kamala Harris in addition to tours by artists such as Ari Lennox, Kirk Franklin, Davido, LL Cool J, Jill Scott, Jodeci, and Raphael Saadiq. The LNU-produced “A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop” special garnered a nomination at the NAACP Image Awards for “Outstanding Variety Show.” Live Nation Urban continues to grow across hip-hop, R&B, soul, and gospel as the most trusted purveyor of live urban music. For additional information, visit https://livenationurban.com/.
About the Mann Center for the Performing Arts
As one of the foremost outdoor music centers in the country, the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, a leading non-profit organization, has a historical legacy of artistic excellence as a world-class entertainment destination presenting premier artists, now in association with Live Nation Entertainment. Each summer season, renowned symphony orchestras, iconic rock stars, and the latest touring artists in indie rock, hip hop, R&B, and pop take the stage here. The Mann is the summer home of The Philadelphia Orchestra and has presented critically acclaimed performers in every decade since the 1930s. Located in the heart of Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park, the Mann hosts more than 400,000 visitors annually. Signature concert experiences are surrounded by Philadelphia’s stunning skyline and include seats beneath the Mann’s acoustically acclaimed TD Pavilion; picnics, blankets, and music under the stars on its Russ and Wendy Palmer Great Lawn or at the top of the hill at the Highmark Skyline Stage @ the Mann; and dining in Crescendo, the venue’s spectacular tented restaurant. In addition, the Mann Center Institute for Creative Arts and Community Impact reaches tens of thousands of young people annually through free programming and educational initiatives as well as its virtual Mann Music Room. The Mann’s unique setting also provides an unparalleled opportunity to activate the campus’s seven unique event spaces available to host concert presentations, intimate gatherings, corporate events, and private functions. For more information, visit www.manncenter.org.
