Anonyms Won-Dabread! 16 June 2008 Parties & Events 246 views Comments Print This Post  Email This Post

So yeah its been a minute since ive posted on here but i recently had the opportunity to visit the land of cheesesteaks and freeway look a likes….yup you guessed it Philly. The occasion, the highly anticipated Roots Picnic. The setting, a scorching 102 degree day at the Festival Pier. The artists, The Roots, Gnarls Barkley, Sharon Jones & Dap Kings, J Davey, Cool Kids, Esperanza Spalding, Jazzy Jeff and the sounds of Diplo. Aside from the blistering heat and occasional issues with the mics (Sharon Jones), there were some standout performances.

The opener, Esperanza Spalding is the absolute truth! She’s an extremely talented singer that plays a variety of instruments. J Davey followed with a blazing set, accompanied by Questlove on the drums doing tracks off their mixtape, a cover of the classic Police track “S.O.S.” and the newest Questlove produced track “Turn the lights out”.

A barefoot Sharon Jones took the stage shortly after with the Dap Kings and stole the show in usual fashion by doing traditional west african dances, calling fans onstage and performing with an incredible level of intensity. The Cool Kids had a respectable performance and Diplo kept the crowd hype in the side tent. Gnarls Barkley was stellar even though the fans were not familiar with some of the newer songs off the album prompting Cee-Lo to ask, “damn do y’all have the album?? “.

The best part of the night came towards the end of the show when Black Thought brought Leonard Hubbard on stage and did the classic “Proceed”. Cehck the video above! Seeing the Roots perform is always good but seeing them perform tracks off Do You Want More?? IN PHILLY?? Classic. Best concert of the year up until now, well see how the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival and Rock the Bells compare. Shouts to my DC Empress crew!