Jay-Z to Perform First Headlining Set in Seven Years at Roots Picnic

This week, celebrated hip-hop band The Roots announced that Jay-Z will be headlining their annual Roots Picnic Festival. The event will take place on May 30-31 at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia, The Roots’ city of origin. Jay-Z will perform on May 30.

Jay-Z on stage:

• According to setlist.fm, Jay-Z has not performed a full, public headlining set since 2019.

• That year, he christened the newly remodeled Webster Hall in New York City with his B-Sides 2 set, where he performed over 40 songs and brought out fellow New York MC, Nas, as a special guest.

• He also performed a set in 2023 at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris for an event honoring Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

• Beyond that, he’s made sparse appearances, such as showing up on the last date of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour in June 2025.

Background:

• Jay-Z recently changed his name on streaming to “JAŸ-Z,” to reflect how it was stylized for his first album, Reasonable Doubt (1996).

• The album is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

• Jay-Z released the original version of “DEAD PRESIDENTS” as well as a music video for “Wishing on a Star.”

• His last album was 2017's 4:44.

What they said:

• Shawn Gee, The Roots’ manager and President of Live Nation Urban: “Moving the Roots Picnic to Belmont Plateau and bringing JAŸ-Z and The Roots together to perform are both bucket-list moments for us. 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.”