Schedule
Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 8:00 pm (Main Stage)
Philadelphia’s finest — nope, not the Flyers, the Phillies, the Eagles, or even a cheesesteak from Pat’s — is in the house! Arguably America’s most innovative hip-hop band, The Roots are going to bring their soul-stirring, fire-breathing, smooth flowing energy to the mountains.
Founded in 1987 by Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson in Philadelphia, this formidable hip-hop collective began with busking sessions on the street corners with Black Thought rapping and Questlove on bucket drums. The group has expanded and contracted throughout the years without losing its mission of jazzy hip-hop beats that propel incisive lyrics that are both poetic and socially relevant.
Fans of late-night talk shows know them first as Jimmy Fallon’s house band on Late Night with … beginning in 2009. In 2014, when Fallon became the host for The Tonight Show, The Roots came with him. The band is an integral part of each show and viral video clips of sketches like Classroom Instruments with the show’s musical guests (Metallica’s Enter Sandman is epic), and Slow Jam News, easily reach into the millions.
To host a band of this stature and cultural importance is an earth-shaking occurrence that is not lost on us. Questlove once said, “Hip-hop is so much about character and caricature that people just see you as a character. Very rarely are you flesh and bone to people.” What we hope is that the attitude and musical brilliance, the poetry and the perceptive social observations The Roots bring to the valley will elevate your consciousness, and that their very aliveness will goosebump your flesh and inspire you to the bones. This year’s tour is called All The Way Live. We’re deeply grateful The Roots have come all this way.
