L/A
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
