The Roots and Live Nation Urban have revealed that JAŸ-Z and The Roots will headline the Saturday, May 30 date of the 2026 installment of Roots Picnic. The festival is scheduled for May 30 and May 31 at a brand new venue: Belmont Plateau. General on-sale tickets are available to purchase now, and more lineup details will be revealed soon.
Belmont Plateau is located in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. The venue is known for having excellent views of the city and is known as a landmark of hip-hop and Black culture in the city.
“Moving the Roots Picnic to Belmont Plateau and bringing JAŸ-Z and The Roots together to perform are both bucket-list moments for us,” Manager of The Roots and President of Live Nation Urban Shawn Gee exclaimed. “After meeting with Mayor Cherelle Parker and hearing her vision for Philadelphia 250, she truly inspired us to dream even bigger, and we’re grateful to her, Commissioner Susan Slawson, Jazelle Jones and everyone who helped make it happen. We can’t wait to see everyone in May at the Plat.”
The 2025 Roots Picnic featured performances from The Roots, Maxwell, Miguel, Tems, Latto, Glorilla, Jeezy, Meek Mill, Lenny Kravitz, Kaytranada, and more.
The Roots were in the news last month when Eve finally received her due for her crucial contribution to the Roots’ “You Got Me.” The track, the lead single from 1999’s acclaimed Things Fall Apart, features Erykah Badu and Eve alongside the Philadelphia icons. But Eve, who was then performing as Eve of Destruction, was not included in the song’s credits, so she did not receive a Grammy when “You Got Me” won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 2000.
That changed at the end of January during Recording Academy Honors, a Grammy week event thrown by the academy’s Black Music Collective at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Santa Monica. At the event, the academy fixed its original error. Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. was on hand to present Eve with a Grammy 26 years after the song’s big win.
