The 13th annual Roots Picnic is still going to take place in 2020, but it will be presented in a dramatically different way due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Black Thought, Questlove and The Roots crew have teamed up with Michelle Obama’s nonprofit When We All Vote to stage a virtual edition of the festival on June 27.
Hip Hop, R&B and gospel acts have been booked for the virtual broadcast experience, which will stream live on YouTube. Performers include The Roots, Lil Baby, SZA, Roddy Ricch, EarthGang, Kirk Franklin, Snoh Aalegra, G Herbo, Polo G, D Nice, H.E.R. and Musiq Soulchild.
Throughout the event, volunteers for When We All Vote will be texting voters via Outvote, a web and mobile organizing platform used to reach unregistered voters. The goal is to reach 500,000 eligible voters.
“Historically, Questlove and Black Thought have always been very active participants in the voting process,” The Roots’ manager and Live Nation Urban president Shawn Gee said in a press release. “However, I felt that it was imperative that this year I open up both The Roots and my Live Nation Urban platforms as vehicles for both voter education and voter registration.”
He added, “Our goal is to aggressively impact change and we’re going to have some fun while doing so. This year, we are incredibly proud to partner with Mrs. Obama’s When We All Vote to ensure our audience has the resources they need to register and vote in November’s election.”
The Roots Picnic 2020 will be hosted by Black Thought, Questlove and Michelle Obama. Tracee Ellis Ross, Janelle Monáe, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Chris Paul, Tom Hanks, Liza Koshy, Kerry Washington and Elaine Welteroth will make special guest appearances during the livestream.
This year’s Roots Picnic was originally supposed to take place at Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park on May 30. Due to the coronavirus, the traditional version of the annual event had to be postponed until 2021.
Viewers can RSVP for the virtual festival here and register to volunteer for the voter outreach here. Catch the livestream on The Roots’ official YouTube channel beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern on June 27.