Erykah Badu, JAŸ-Z Headlining Roots Picnic At Belmont Plateau

The 18th Annual Roots Picnic is taking place May 30 and May 31, and this year’s installment of The Roots’ curated festival has some major headliners and a new location.

This year’s festival will take place at Belmont Plateau this year. And while the full lineup has not been revealed, the two headliners have been announced, and they are hip-hop and R&B powerhouses: JAŸ-Z and Erykah Badu. JAŸ-Z, who recently change the stylization of his name, is headlining night one on May 30, and Badu will close out the festival May 31.

Tickets are on sale now.

May 30 will mark JAŸ-Z’s return to the Philadelphia music festival scene after his Made In America festival came to an abrupt halt in 2023, with organizers citing “severe circumstances outside of production control” for the cancelation. Badu performed at Roots Picnic back in 2015, with The Roots themselves serving as her band.

Roots Picnic has remained a Philadelphia staple, with a heavy focus on the region’s culture. Artists with Philly roots (pun intended) who performed as past Roots Picnic festivals include The War on Drugs, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Diplo, Meek Mill, SNACKTIME, Adam Blackstone, Tierra Whack, Man Man, and Lil’ Uzi Vert.

We’ll keep an eye out for this year’s full lineup and provide an update when supporting artists are announced.

And here’s a fun fact for fans of Philly music trivia: the last concert to be held at Belmont Plateau was a “be-in” on April 18, 1971, according to ConcertArchive.org. The bill featured Seatrain, Crowbar, Randall’s Island, Mandrill, and Happy & Artie Traum. Before that, The Plat hosted the first Earth Day celebration on April 22, 1970, with Redbone, Eaton, The American Dream, The Great Speckled Bird with Ian and Sylvia performing. The music video for DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s 1991 hit “Summertime” was filmed at Belmont Plateau, as well.