Despite spotty showers and an often unrelenting sun, Philly didn’t let anything kill its vibe at the 2024 Roots Picnic, which took place June 1-2.
Nas, Jill Scott and Lil Wayne — alongside The Roots, Trombone Shorty and PJ Morton — headlined this year’s festival, which took place at The Mann in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pa. Other notable performers included Method Man and Redman with J. Period, Adam Blackstone with Fantasia and Tasha Cobbs-Leonard, Robert Glasper with Yebba, Sexyy Red, Babyface, October London, Smino, the Go-Go Backyard Band with Scarface and Amerie, Wale, Marsha Ambrosius, Funk Flex, Leon Thomas, Kenya Vaun, Q, BLK Odyssy, Shaboozey, André 3000 and more.
Held across two separate stages — as well as the Centennial Stage, which hosted live podcasts, DJ sets and other curated experiential media activations — Roots Picnic celebrated countless facets of Black culture across music, food, liquor, art, double dutch and more. Among the most frequented brand activations was Grand Marnier — who hosted Billboard at the festival — which had a footprint where attendees and talent alike could find a beach-esque reprieve with various cocktails made with Grand Marnier cognac and Espolòn tequila.
Partnering with 2024 Roots Picnic is just the latest iteration of Grand Marnier’s relationship with hip-hop. On April 29, the cognac brand teamed up with Billboard 200 chart-topper 2 Chainz for The Rouge Room, a digital content series celebrating the power and utility of collaboration. And on Nov. 14, 2023, Grand Marnier joined forces with UNWRP for a unique holiday wrapping paper inspired by Billboard’s November 2023 R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month Teezo Touchdown.
2024 Roots Picnic largely went off without a hitch, save for Cam’Ron standing up attendees who came for his scheduled set, and notable delays on the main stage during the festival’s second day. From André 3000 enrapturing fans with selections from his ambient jazz album New Blue Sun to fans nearly tearing each other to shreds over Method Man’s sweaty T-shirt, there was rarely a dull moment at this year’s Roots Picnic. Even still, the presence of consummate contemporary performers such as Victoria Monét and Tyla — both of whom pulled out of performing due to health issues — was sorely missed.
The festival took big swings with its lineup — the transition from Babyface to Gunna was particularly disorienting for some attendees — but those risks resulted in one of the most heartfelt dedications to the breadth of Black music in 2024 so far. Nearly every sound of the diaspora was present in one way or another during the two-day festival, the perfect way to bring in Black Music Month.
Here are the nine best moments of this year’s Roots Picnic.
