By CLTure News
June 16, 2020 (Updated)
The Roots Picnic, a yearly music festival hosted by The Roots will take place virtually this year. Normally hosted in The Roots hometown of Philadelphia at Fairmount Park, the digital event will now take a different approach by featuring a special guest host, former first lady, Michelle Obama.
Partnering with Obama’s nonpartisan, nonprofit organization When We All Vote, the digital festival will aim to reach 500,000 eligible voters through the star-studded lineup of performances.
Snoh Aalegra, H.E.R., Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, SZA, EarthGang, Kirk Franklin, Musiq Soulchild, DJ D-Nice, and of course, The Roots will perform for this unique digital festival that comes at a crucial point in our nation’s history. There will also be special appearances by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kerry Washington, Tracee Ellis Ross, Tom Hanks, Janelle Monae, Chris Paul, and more.
“The partnership comes from a shared ethos of wanting to reach the most underrepresented community of people when it comes to voting, black people between the ages of 21-35,” The Roots expressed in a statement.
With a focused effort to help voters to register throughout the event, there is also a link for those who would like to volunteer and join a pre-party.
The 13th annual Roots Picnic hosted by Michelle Obama, Questlove, and Black Thought will stream starting at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 27 on YouTube.
Watch the Roots Picnic Pre-Show featuring Victory Boyd (1:18), Infinity’s Song (3:46), Sampa The Great (46:26), RMR (9:44), Raye (55:43), Brianna Cash (1:02:39), Riela (1:20:10), and more.
Watch the 2020 Roots Picnic virtual festival co-hosted by Michelle Obama and featuring performances by The Roots (3:28 and 1:47:20), H.E.R. (19:53), Snoh Aalegra (1:32:06), Lil Baby (1:41:52), Roddy Ricch (15:12), Kirk Franklin (1:19:30), EarthGang (37:36), and more.
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