The 18th annual Roots Picnic went down over the weekend at Philadelphia’s Mann in Fairmount Park, but not everything panned out according to plan. Firstly, D'Angelo canceled his headlining set -- which would've been his first proper live performance in nearly a decade -- just a week before the festival, citing an "unforeseen medical delay." But that wasn't the only unforeseen delay to affect this year's Roots Picnic.
On Saturday, after fans had already begun lining up outside of the festival for its first day, festival organizers announced that gates would be opening at 1 p.m. instead of noon like originally scheduled. But shortly after 1 p.m., the festival posted on social media: “The picnic grounds need a little TLC after the recent storms, so we’ll be pushing doors open to 2PM.” But apparently, the line didn't start moving until around 3:30, with many attendees unable to get into the festival until the evening. The schedule was adjusted to allow all the artists to perform.
Both the Roots Picnic Instagram and Questlove shared statements about the incident, citing the delay to inclement weather the night before making the site dangerous for concertgoers. Here's Questlove's statement:
Aight—— I know today wasn’t “ideal” for The Roots Picnic in this 18th year of 2025. (This year has been particularly challenging to say the least)
Transforming the Mann Center into our event takes about two weeks, but as many of you experienced, heavy rain from May 30th into the morning of the 31st caused significant damage (midnight to 7am). We nearly canceled The Picnic because conditions were unsafe for everyone involved.
Ultimately, we chose to take extra time to repair the site to ensure safety for all ticket holders, which is why there was a 3hr delay. (Yes I got numerous messages from attendees, family, everyone in the tristate) but we prioritized caution above all else.
After working hard to improve the site—factoring in the challenge of finding mulch to absorb excess water—we managed to revise the schedule so that all artists, including headliners Maxwell (whom we ALL owe an incredible amount of gratitude for doing us a solid with seconds on the clock) and Latto, could perform without violating city noise curfews.
(Im personally thanking all the Live Nation Staff ——led by Shawn Gee for moving at lightening speed in solving the many obstacle and puzzles it took to even make today happen)
It’s 3am and I wanna thank you for your understanding and patience through this adversity. This year has shown our ability to adapt and overcome challenges, much like we did in past years.
Tomorrow is a new day, and I’m excited to revisit the “Do You Want More” LP on the Mann stage. Please enjoy the picnic as we kick off summer together.
The 2025 Roots Picnic also featured Meek Mill, Lenny Kravitz, Kaytranada, Maxwell, Miguel, Tems, Latto, GloRilla, Jeezy, and more.
