The music and culture festival will return to the Mann Center in Fairmount Park after missing the last two years due to the pandemic.

by Dan DeLuca | The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Roots Picnic will return to the Mann Center in Fairmount Park this June, with the multi-stage music and culture festival curated by the Philadelphia hip-hop band expanding to two days with headliners that include Mary J. Blige, Summer Walker, Wizkid, Kamasi Washington and Jazmine Sullivan.

This year’s Picnic will take place on the Mann campus on June 4 and 5. It will be the first to be staged as an in-person event since 2019, when the festival drew a crowd of 25,000 as it made the move to the Mann after over a decade on the Delaware River at the Festival Pier, which no longer exists.

The Picnic will feature two performers in Sunday’s Super Bowl telecast in Blige, who was part of the Dr. Dre led hip-hop halftime show, and country singer Mickey Guyton who sang the National Anthem. At the Picnic, Blige will perform with the Roots as her backing band.

The lineup is deep. The J. Period Live Mixtape, a showcase for MCs that is always a highlight will feature Roots rapper Black Thought, plus Rick Ross and Benny the Butcher. A Soulquarians Jam Session will find Roots drummer Questlove and other neo-soul musicians backing Keyshia Coel, SWV and Philly R&B singer Music Soulchild.

The bill for this year’s edition of the fest, that was founded in 2007, will includea pairing of jazz-funk-hip-hop pianist Robert Glasper with Philly vocalist Bilal and DJ Jazzy Jeff backing legendary rapper Rakim. Gospel choir leaders Kirk Franklin and Tye Tribbett will perform, as will Philly rapper and pop artist Tierra Whack, indie pop singer Serpentwithfeetand rappers Freddie Gibbs, G Herbo and Chief Keef.

A podcast stage curated by Philadelphia hip-hop personalities Wallo267 and Gillie Da King with include live airings of Questlove Supreme, Jemele Hill is Unbothered and Million Dollars Worth of Game, among others.

Which artists are playing on which day? That information is yet to be determined.

“This year, Black Thought, Questlove and I attempted to curate a lineup that that broke through the genre barriers that often separate us in Black culture,” Roots manager Shawn Gee said in a statement. “To be able to book Mickey Guyton, Kirk Franklin, G Herbo, Wizkid, Wallo & Gillie, and Mary J. Blige on the same lineup is a dream come true.”

Tickets go on sale for individual days and weekend passes on Friday at 10 a.m. via rootspicnic.com.