The Roots drummer Questlove is sending out an apology to Roots Picnic attendees for the frustrating delay this year. Over this past weekend, the iconic hip-hop band's 18th edition of their beloved summer festival was hit with a doozy of a challenge from Mother Nature. Rain constantly poured down upon the Mann Center located in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park.
It did so from the midnight May 30 to 7 a.m. on May 31, the start of Roots Picnic. Because of the torrential downpour, The Roots were scrambling to come up with ideas on how not to outright cancel. Thankfully, they didn't have to, as Questlove showed a brief clip of front loaders laying down mulch to absorb the excess water on his Instagram.
This caused a very long delay on day one. To be more exact, it was about three hours. Alongside that video was a lengthy explanation/apology on behalf of everyone involved with putting Roots Picnic together.
"Ultimately, we chose to take extra time to repair the site to ensure safety for all ticket holders, which is why there was a 3hr delay. (Yes I got numerous messages from attendees, family, everyone in the tristate) but we prioritized caution above all else," Questlove said as captured by Billboard.
Roots Picnic 2025 Lineup
He then went on to thank this year's acts for cooperating. Moreover, he creditied Live Nation for their work in helping them get things back up and running.
Questlove then concluded by thanking the fans (despite being angry) for sticking it out. "It’s 3am and I wanna thank you for your understanding and patience through this adversity. This year has shown our ability to adapt and overcome challenges, much like we did in past years," he said.
"Tomorrow is a new day, and I’m excited to revisit the “Do You Want More” LP on the Mann stage. Please enjoy the picnic as we kick off summer together. Thank you! - Questo!" he said at the time.
