The Roots Picnic – Festival Pier – Philadelphia, PA – June 2, 2018 (A PopEntertainment.com Concert R

Updated: Jun 27, 2022

This past Saturday the 11th annual Roots Picnic occurred at Festival Pier. The humid warmth of pre-summer yielded to a severe storm that ended The Roots’ headline set after only two songs. Before that abrupt conclusion the day was full of awesome moments. The top highlights were:

*Philadelphia’s own Lil Uzi Vert, playing the second top-billed spot, dazzled with an energetic set where he went into the crowd three times. Playing tracks from his 2017 LP Luv is Rage 2 and asking the crowd of adoring fans if he was a rock star, he knew how to deliver.

*Black Thought and J. Period’s live mixtape set showed why The Roots’ Thought is one of the top MCs. Joined by the likes of Fabolous and Jadakiss, the set, which included work from Thought’s just-released Stream of Thought, Vol. 1, was a phenomenal sight to behold.

*Questlove delivered a live version of his podcast Questlove Supreme. Mixing up topics and having a lively discussion among regulars and new guests, it was an interesting insight into one of the many facets of the multi-talented Questlove.

*The groundbreaking Sun Ra Arkestra stunned early in the Picnic. Led by 94-year-old Marshall Allen, the 14-member Arkestra delivered a breathtaking experimental jazz set.

*Philly’s own Tierra Whack brought her unique freestyle rap to life, unleashing her 15-minute, 15 track Whack World. She quickly moved from personal inquiries of the crowd to her signature styles.

*Jojo Abot fused her world music sensibilities into a stunning set of unique beats and soaring lyrics.

*Bri Steves owned the Oasis Stage early on with her compelling rap styles, especially on the recently released “Jealousy.”

*Dvsn provided a stunning, soulful voice later in the afternoon. Led by Daniel Daley, the trio played cuts from their 2017 work Morning After, among others.

Chris Sikich