Leon Bridges, Usher, Ibeyi and more to play the 2016 Roots Picnic
Philadelphia heroes The Roots will return to Festival Pier on Penn’s Landing this summer for their ninth annual Roots Picnic, and joining them is their usual eclectic array of artists curated by the man with the ‘fro and the drumsticks, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson.
Of course the lineup, reported by Pitchfork and the cast of Broad City (watch the video below), features The Roots themselves in a headlining set, but they’ll be be backing 90s / aughties pop dynamo Usher in a set as well. Other high-profile appearances of note are soul-rock force of nature Leon Bridges, who’s been buzzing in the XPN universe for the better part of a year now (he’s headlining a sold-out show at The Fillmore this winter).
I predict peak cell-service outage will occur during Future‘s set, and there’s appearances from Cheltenham’s Lil’ Dicky in the mix as well, not to mention infectious Oakland singer Kehlani and (wha?) DMX.
Truth be told, the most exciting part of the lineup is the names you’re seeing on the lower third of the bill…French-Cuban twin sister duo Ibeyi, whose debut was one of 2015’s most understated triumphs; Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals, who’s deservedly been building up the blog buzz following the release of Malibu; the fierce Lolawolf, fromted by Zoë Kravitz (who previously played the Picnic with her band Elevator Fight); amazing Philly DJ mainstay Rich Medina, local pop powerhouse GoGo Morrow, and Lil Uzi Vert, a Philly rapper who’s name has been on the lips of just about anybody talking about up-and-coming local hip-hop
Tickets for the Festival go onsale this Friday at 10 a.m. via Live Nation; more information can be found at the XPN Concert Calendar. Below, check out the Broad City promo, as well as videos of some of the artists on the bill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E36zt2sMyto
The Roots Picnic flyer