[Photos by JEFF FUSCO COPYRIGHT 2010] BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR ROLLING STONE Like France, the picnic remains proof positive that, despite wild-eyed Tea Party protests to the contrary, socialism actually can work. Everyone brings something, we all share, and everyone live relatively happily ever after — sometimes anyway. Such was the case at Saturday’s third annual Roots Picnic at the Festival Pier in Philadelphia. Senegal’s horn-y, percussion-heavy Baja and the Dry Eye Crew brought the world beats. Face-painted, ukulele-strumming one-gal-band TuneYards brought the weirdness. New Orleans rapper Jay Electronica brought the conspiracy theories (specifically the damning federal indictment of “Candyman”). […]
Vampire Weekend & Run DMC Headline Roots Picnic
BILLBOARD: Vampire Weekend will headline the third annual Roots Picnic, which will also feature a performance by the Philadelphia-based Roots plus two associated side projects from drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and rapper Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter. The event will be held June 5 at Philadelphia’s Festival Pier; tickets go on sale Friday (March 5) via LiveNation.com. Also on the bill are Clipse, Mayer Hawthorne, Nneka, the Very Best, Tuneyards, Das Racist, Bajah and the Dry Eye Crew and Pattern Is Movement. In addition, Questlove will play a set with fellow Philadelphia native DJ Jazzy Jeff, while Black Thought will perform […]