Jay-Z will make his return to the stage for a headlining performance alongside The Roots at this year’s Roots Picnic festival, which moves venues to Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia.
It is the rapper’s first performance since he joined his wife Beyoncé in 2025 at the Cowboy Carter Tour in France. And the first time the rap mogul and The Roots will hit the stage together since Jay-Z’s 2001 MTV Unplugged.
The flyer features the 56-year-old artist's early moniker with the umlaut, “JAŸ-Z,” which hints at the 30th anniversary of Reasonable Doubt. This lines up with the launch of a website in February for the album’s birthday, and the release of the original version of “Dead Presidents” to streaming services.
“Moving the Roots Picnic to Belmont Plateau and bringing JAŸ-Z and The Roots together to perform are both bucket-list moments for us,” said Shawn Gee, The Roots’ manager and president of Live Nation Urban, per a press release. “After meeting with Mayor Cherelle Parker and hearing her vision for Philadelphia 250, she truly inspired us to dream even bigger, and we’re grateful to her, Commissioner Susan Slawson, Jazelle Jones and everyone who helped make it happen. We can’t wait to see everyone in May at the Plat.”
The reunion performance will come to fruition on the first night of the two-day festival (May 30-31). The Questlove and co. curated festival will announce more names on the bill soon. General tickets will open today, Wednesday, 18 March at 10am local time here.
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