With the Jay Z-curated “ Made in America” festival canceled for the second year in a row, Philly natives the Roots ’ annual Roots Picnic at the Mann in Fairmount Park is now the only game in town when it comes to hip-hop/ R&B in festival fashion. And this year’s brought veteran and newer artists together with a bill carefully curated by the Roots’ Questlove and Black Thought and their manager (and Live Nation Urban president) Shawn Gee, combining Lil Wayne ’s Orleans parish set with Trombone Shorty and the Roots, Andre 3000’s new take on flute-y jazz with fast-rising trap goddess Sexyy Red and country singer Shaboozey, and more. Los Angeles will soon get a taste of Philly pride when Roots Picnic: Hip-Hop is the Love of My Life — featuring Queen Latifah, the Pharcyde, Jungle Brothers and more — hits the Hollywood Bowl on June 29.
Here are 10 of the best moments from Philly’s 2024 Roots Picnic. Jill Scott Gets a Hero’s Homecoming Welcome from Philly’s New Mayor Despite being Philly-born, platinum-certified for her debut album and co-authoring the Roots’ biggest hit (1999’s “You Got Me”), Jill Scott had never headlined a Roots Picnic until this year. (She’d only performed once before, as part of a star-studded anniversary event celebrating the Roots’ “Things Fall Apart” album.
) With that, Scott received a thunderous welcome from the sold-out crowd and an introduction from the city’s new mayor, Cherelle Parker, before launching into a ste.
