Accidents happen. Mistakes happen. Life happens. But there’s a difference between handling things that’s out of one’s control and totally dropping the ball — but that’s exactly what organizers of this year’s Roots Picnic did in Philadelphia.
The first day of Roots Picnic 2025 was nothing short of a disaster. The
annual two-day music festival (now in its 18th year in Philly) was impacted
by rain delays that’s typical. However, the level of incompetence, poor
communication, and lack of reliable hospitality to its thousands of attendees
made countless people on the internet refer to it as the “Philly Fyre
Festival.”
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To make matters worse, this event isn’t cheap. During a time when prices
are going up and quality isn’t necessarily improving nationally (unless
you’re going to see Beyoncé on tour), expectations for the Roots Picnic to
deliver was an understatement. A one-day General Admissions pass is
$125, a 2-Day VIP Silver pass is $799, and a 2-Day VIP Gold pass is
$1,399. When you’re charging people that much money for an event that’s
taking place rain or shine, things gotta be on point.
As a 2-Day VIP Silver pass holder, it was anything but that for me. For starters, it
was clear the organizers chose a venue that they weren’t fully prepared to
adjust for the weather. Rather than communicate that upfront, attendees
such as myself, were waiting in lines for over three hours as they constantly
pushed back the timing of when gates opened. I arrived on the ground
around 2 pm and didn’t enter until roughly 7 pm.
During that entire time, the “VIP” line was pretty much another crowded
General Admissions line where folks just simply rushed towards the front
without much staff assistance or security helping to steer the lines. People
were getting arrested for publicly urinating during the long wait, some
attendees had medical emergencies, communication was very few and far
in-between. There were no water and snacks provided or even accessible
restrooms available to accommodate the hundreds who braved through
various temporary monsoons of rain, wind, and chills. There were tense
moments that led to confrontations, loud frustration, and some threats of
people plotting an insurrection on the festival like it was January 6.
It’s one thing to blame mother nature and another thing to simply lack the
compassion, decency, and hospitality to treat people who spent their hard
money for an experience that was more than lackluster. Once I arrived (5
hours later), my “VIP” experience was a flop. A mostly uncovered section of
mulch with one main private food vendor who had a line bigger than the
various General Admission sections around me.
Mud was everywhere and the wait had a lot of people looking rightfully agitated
and disgruntled. Someone near me called the messy scene a “Black
Woodstock” – I called it “Hoodstock.” A lot of us had to laugh to keep from
crying at how disorganized the whole thing was. It wasn’t until Sunday morning (Day 2 of Roots Picnic) that organizers had up a formal “apology” for the day before.
Even Questlove himself tried to be optimistic in explaining what went down
hours later.
But still, it’s not about the what…it’s the how. Anyone who’s gone to a live
event understands how rain works. However, rain was on the forecast for
days in Philly and the lack of communication and foresight involved – while
charging people all that damn money is ridiculous.
Either way, I decided to reclaim my peace and not go for Day 2. Fool me
once…and never again.
Straight From 
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