The Roots Picnic 2024 has passed and here are my thoughts surrounding it. Was it a good festival? Would I go back? What are some of the things that could be better? What were the vibes? These are the questions that many people who told me during, or after asked and I am going to answer them. The Roots Picnic is one of the best music festivities bring about music, culture, food, and more. So here is my recap.
Why go to the Roots Picnic?
Again, it is about culture and music. They make sure to bring artist from all over especially Philadelphia artists. It is a way to be in your own musical world and let the vibes take you. For instance, I really do love Leon Thomas III. Having him come and bless the crowd with his vocals was a rare treat. First, Leon who many remember from the hit show, Victorious is underrated.
Leon is a phenomenal singer, and his abilities is out of this world. He is not only an amazing singer but also a great writer. Some of his songs that he wrote for other artists include Ariana Grande, Yours Truly album, Toni Braxton, Gold Roses by Rick Ross, Drake, Certified Lover Boy, Snooze by SZA, and Butterfly by Kehlani which isn’t even everything he has written or produced.
These rare gems of artist along with the likes of Wale, Amerie, Gunna, Baby Face, and much more were present this year. With 3 stages everyone can see the artist that they really want to see and more. The Roots Picnic is gold for music heads alike.
Culture and Vibes
The vibes are always top tier at Roots Picnic. They have so many amazing pop ups featuring brands like Shea Moisture, Grand Marnier, Jack Daniels, Dunkin Donuts, and one of my favorites like Charmin. These activations including free samples, coupons to get full sized products and more. The way in which these pop ups took their time to make the experiences fun for those who stopped by didn’t go by unnoticed. Charmin and the Charmin bear was my absolute favorite. From the music, the VIPeee bathroom experience providing air conditioned and well-maintained bathrooms were amazing with of course Charmin products.
Full Weekend of fun with the Roots Picnic
There were brunches, skating, hip hop panels and discussions, and so much more. The Roots Picnic don’t simply put on concerts and leave the city. It is managed and directed by the Roots which is Philly’s finest. They know what the city wants. And since this is my second year this was well done. I didn’t hear of any foolishness happening with violence or issues. Even with the fact that there are plenty of bars for those of age to indulge in. All the alcohol activations required ID and of course were for those 21 and up. If you had someone in your party that wasn’t 21, they didn’t get in.
Improvements Needed
Like with all festivities there are things that can be changed. For instance, the getting into the festival was tough. They didn’t open on time. SO many times, many of us if not all of us stood outside waiting. This didn’t matter if you had a general ticket or VIP. This needs to change. There were some people overcome with the heat that passed out getting into the venue. They were well taken care of and many other factors like alcohol intake before coming or not being full hydrated could be the culprit.
One of the biggest improvements must go to the people. Please as always when you go to a concert inside or outside pay attention to what you can bring in or what to leave home. So many people were giving security a hard time for not being able to bring in a bookbag. IF you got a clear bag from any of the sponsors as they were many, please place that somewhere specifically for such events. I reuse mine all the time.
Quest Cheesesteak Diner with Stella Artois
This had to be one of the best pop ups. This pop up was invitation only. I liked the exclusivity. It allowed us to have smaller crowds. Everyone had assigned tables to sit down and enjoy. In addition, the cheesesteak which was plant based by Impossible Foods was good. The menu included:
Questlove’s Lemon Pepper Popcorn
Questlove’s Cheesesteak™ made with Impossible™ (with or without cheese sauce)
Kale Picnic Slaw
Shoestring Sweet Potato Fries
A special shout out to Quest Love for being a great host for this event. The entire team of Stella Artois made sure they took extra good care of us even before we got there. They provided detailed information and what to know before you go which you know is always a great thing to have. Once on the festival grounds they made sure that we were comfortable.
Expectations of the Roots Picnic
I wanted to be safe and feel safe. Roots Picnic made sure of that. Not one time did I feel my anxiety go up outside of getting inside of the festival. I wanted to be able to dance and have a great time. That happened in many ways than one. I wanted to eat good food. That most definitely happened. Shout out to Baken’n Bacon for my husband’s bacon fries. He devoured them in a matter of minutes. I saw so many celebrities that weren’t even participating but came to have a good time.
So overall a great festival, a good time was had, and I would go back. There is room for improvement, but they did a great job of adding elements for everyone to have themselves their moment. I will highly suggest getting a VIP ticket gold or silver. It’s worth it.
