The Roots Picnic has announced the rest of its 2026 lineup, after revealing Jay-Z as the headliner.
The two-day festival returns on Saturday, May 30 and Sunday, May 31, 2026, at Belmont Plateau. Jay-Z is slated to headline Saturday, performing with The Roots for the first time in more than a decade. Erykah Badu will close out the festival on Sunday.
Announced today, the remaining artists on the line up include Kehlani, Brandy, T.I., Mariah the Scientist, Yolanda Adams, Ledisi, and Wale, along with sets from De La Soul, Corinne Bailey Rae, Destin Conrad and KWN.
There will also be an all-star 50th anniversary celebratory performance of go-go music.
Jay-Z’s appearance will also be his first live performance since joining his wife Beyoncé at the final “Cowboy Carter” international tour date, which took place in Paris in June 2025.
“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 said.
The move comes after the festival received countless complaints from fans who attended the 2025 festival at The Mann.
Presale tickets for the two-day Roots Picnic festival, taking place on May 30-31, are available now. General on-sale starts on March 18 at 10 a.m. ET. Details on the rest of the lineup are expected to be announced this week.
Roots Picnic has continued to be one of the summer’s most highly anticipated festivals and a celebration of Philadelphia’s robust music scene.
Since launching in 2007, Roots Picnic has stood at the crossroads of music and culture — entertaining, engaging, and enlightening millions of fans along the way. Its dynamic lineups have included everyone from Lil Wayne, The Weeknd, Pharrell, Snoop Dogg, Phantogram, Usher, Nas, A$AP Rocky, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and Future to Vampire Weekend, The War on Drugs, Gary Clark, Jr., Solange, Diplo, Gnarls Barkley, and more. Roots Picnic isn’t just a cornerstone of the group’s career, but a cornerstone of the culture.