Philadelphia’s annual Roots Picnic festival did not quite go on as-planned this weekend, marred by long lines following heavy rain and “unsafe” conditions.
The festival kicked-off on Saturday, May 31, though fans were unable to enter the festival grounds at The Mann Center at Fairmount Park until hours after gates opened. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, fans started chanting “Let us in!” and frustrated comments flooded social media.
Drummer Questlove took to social media on Sunday to explain the situation.
“Aight—— I know today wasn’t “ideal” for The Roots Picnic in this 18th year of 2025. (This year has been particularly challenging to say the least),” Questlove wrote.
He noted that instead of outright cancelling the festival, the group decided to repair the site to make it safe for attendees — leading to a three-hour opening delay.
“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,” he said.
Questlove thanked festivalgoers for their “understanding and patience through this adversity,” adding that “this year has shown our ability to adapt and overcome challenges, much like we did in past years.”
The Roots Picnic festival organizers also apologized, writing on Instagram that the “rain over the last 48 hours made the grounds unsafe” and “in an abundance of caution, we had to delay doors opening, resulting in the lines to get into the festival.” They also promised to “do better,” adding that changes were implemented to improve the entry process. Comments have been disabled on that post.
While the second day of the festival seemed to go on as-planned — featured performances from The Roots, Lenny Kravitz, Kaytranada, Meek Mill, CeeLo Green, and more — festivalgoers are still frustrated, calling for refunds.
This is a developing story. Stay with TicketNews for updates.
