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The Roots Apologize to Fans After First Day of 2025 Roots Picnic Marred By Long Lines: ‘Safety Will Always Be Our Number 1 Priority’


The Roots apologized to fans after entry into the first day of the 2025 Roots Picnic was delayed by hours due to heavy rains earlier in the day.

Roots drummer Questlove responded to the complaints in an Instagram post featuring footage of front loaders pushing around wood chips to cover of giant muddy patches on the site at the Mann Center in Philly’s Fairmount Park. Quest explained that instead of cancelling the festival — whose roster this year included Meek Mill, Lenny Kravitz, GloRilla, Miguel, Tems, Latto, Kaytranada and Jeezy — the group decided to take extra time to repair the site to make it safe for attendees, which he said caused a three-hour delay in opening doors. “After working hard to improve the site—factoring in the challenge of finding mulch to absorb excess water — we managed to revise the schedule so that all artists, including headliners Maxwell (whom we ALL owe an incredible amount of gratitude for doing us a solid with seconds on the clock) and Latto, could perform without violating city noise curfews.”

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