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Thousands of people flew in to Philadelphia to attend the annual Roots Picnic hosted by the
band. A seamlessly soulful music festival that books legacy acts as well as up and coming
artists. The Roots Picnic has evolved since its humble beginnings in 2008, from a neighborhood
block party to a full on concert . But this year, let’s just say things went South. The normally well-
run event was more reminiscent of the notorious Fyre Fest of 2017 that left hundreds of people
stranded in the Bahamas without food, water, accommodations or medical care.
On May 31st, Day One of the festival, the concert grounds were slated to open at noon but bad
weather delayed the entry process by hours. The Roots posted to their official Instagram page,
apologizing to their fans but people aren’t having it! It’s not just that they had to wait over 5
hours to get inside the venue but that fans were denied water, food, and bathroom usage as
well. There also was a complete lack of adequate safety officials, as reported by a nurse in the
Instagram comments who detailed how a man passed out and it took over an hour to get proper
medical assistance.
People who paid for VIP packages walked in hours beyond what they anticipated only to have
no screen in their section and the music quality being subpar, notes another attendee. To add
even more fuel to the fire, The Roots (or at least their PR team), posted a subpar apology note
explaining that the weather was the cause for the delay and that they still “allowed” all booked
artists to play their set so nobody truly missed out. If was an incredibly dense response as no
sane person is blaming the Roots for bad weather.
But a rainstorm does not explain the lack of amenities, security or First Aid help on the
campgrounds. The comment section got so heated under the apology post that the band’s
comment section was disabled. That didn’t stop attendees, though. The pissed off concert
goers have flooded a clip of Miguel singing his hit “Adorn” with hundreds of rageful comments
demanding a refund, not only for festival tickets, but for lodging and airfare as well. Some are
even threatening to start a Class Action Lawsuit against Live Nation and The Roots for the
physical, emotional and financial damage they endured.
Thankfully, The Roots have a full time gig with Jimmy Fallon cause they’re likely to be hurting for
money in a minute. With the future of the Roots Picnic at a standstill, we hope this catastrophe
is brought to a resolve quickly.
