When it comes to hometown pride, you gotta hand it to The Roots. Despite all their album sales, Grammys, and even now a steady late night TV gig, the Philadelphia locals won't even consider a move to Manhattan. Most of the band still commutes via train to their Jimmy Fallon gig everyday, and despite that busy schedule, they still save their most exuberant show of the year for a homecoming: the annual Roots Family Picnic, which Jaunted was on hand for this weekend.

The Roots basically performed all day, kicking off the show with a mini-set at 2 p.m., then backing up Public Enemy later in the evening and closing out the show with a second, hour-long set of their own. The day was also a showcase of Philly's up-and-coming hip-hop scene, with homegrown acts like Santigold, King Britt and Written House.

Next up on the Philly music agenda: Check out a ton more local bands at the free Popped! 2nd Street Music Festival in Northern Liberties on June 20. Then Philly brings back its rock-ier side for the Xponential Music Festival, which takes place July 24 – 26 on the Camden Waterfront, with big-name acts like The Hold Steady, They Might be Giants, and Peter Bjorn & John.

Related Stories:
· The Roots Return Home to Philly This Weekend [Jaunted]
· Popped! Music Festival [Official Site]
· Xponential Music Festival [Official Site]

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Philly's favorite hip-hop sons, The Roots, will be taking a break from their gig as the house band on Jimmy Fallon's show this weekend and hopping on the Amtrak back home for their second annual Roots Picnic.

The band will be joined at the Festival Pier at Penn's Landing by a few thousand of their closest friends, along with a diverse array of artists, including TV on the Radio, Santigold, the Black Keys and Public Enemy.

At a not-so-insane $47 a ticket, the Roots Picnic is a welcome break from some of summer's more overpriced music festivals, and according to the forecast, all this rain should be out of the way in time for a sunny, 80-degree Saturday in Philadelphia. Jaunted will be there representing—come join us!

Related Stories:
· The Roots Picnic [Official Site]
· Questlove Swears He Won't Become a New Yorker [Jaunted]
· Jaunted Does Lunch with Questlove of the Roots [Jaunted]

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Now that Philly music icons the Roots have a full-time gig in Manhattan (as the house band for Jimmy Fallon's new late night show), we had to wonder, are the sixth borough's favorite hip-hoppers feeling a pull towards the first borough?

Not quite, says drummer Questlove. Despite the five-nights-a-week gig at NBC Studios, along with a running DJ night at Le Poisson Rouge, Quest still considers himself a Philly resident through-and-through.

"Right now I'm basically living in the dressing room of 30 Rockefeller Center, but I still get my mail in Philly," says Questlove. "I love my house there, so I'm holding out on getting a New York mortgage."

Questlove's greatest travel wish? Fans of the obsessive Twitter addict know he's stoked about Obama's recent train construction announcements, and he's hoping for some super-high-speed trains connecting his two towns. (Questlove, who can be found tweeting dozens of times a day with semi-celebs like Samantha Ronson, Solange Knowles and Khloe Kardashian, says he keeps his computer by the stage during the Fallon show just in case he feels an urgent need to Tweet during breaks.)

The whole band will return to Philly June 6 for the second annual Roots Picnic, when they'll bring along Santogold, the Black Keys and TV on the Radio, as well as Public Enemy, who will perform the entirety off their seminal 1988 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, with the Roots playing backup.

"I'll be scalping tickets on Twitter," jokes Questlove.

Related Stories:
· Jaunted Does Lunch with Questlove of the Roots [Jaunted]
· Rocking out at the Roots Picnic in Philly [Jaunted]
· Twitter coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Jaunted] ]]> BS 2009-04-20T11:26:41-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/4/16/17313/6761

We just got back from lunch at Michael's with Questlove of the Roots (no, really), courtesy of Greater Philadelphia Tourism.

Quest told us all about his twitter addiction, travel dreams, and the Roots' big concert event coming up this summer in Philly.

We’ll have all the details about our chat with him next week, but if you're hungry for some Questlove action now, you can catch the Roots at Lehigh University's Sundaze Festival this Saturday in Pennsylvania, and Questlove has a standing DJ set in New York every Thursday night at Le Poisson Rouge. And of course, the Roots are the house band for Jimmy Fallon's late night show.

Related Stories:
· Rocking out at the Roots Picnic in Philly [Jaunted]
· Sundaze [Official Site]
· Le Poisson Rouge [Official Site]

[Photo: Jaunted] ]]> BS 2009-04-17T08:41:39-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/6/9/163228/0506

This weekend, Philadelphia was the place to be for music thanks to The Roots Picnic. The event featured performances from Diplo, The Cool Kids, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Gnarls Barkley and of course The Roots.

The picnic took place on Festival Pier at Penn's Landing, where cool breezes from the Delaware River were thankfully able to relieve the crowd from the 90+ degree heat.

Though the opening acts were hit-and-miss, Sharon Jones, The Roots and Gnarls Barkley closed out the night with a bang. One guy was actually moved to propose to his wife in the audience during their ballad "You Got Me." Roots' fans were also treated to a stunning solo from bassist Leonard Hubbard, who recently left the group after more than a decade.

The sun was rough and the venue could have used some seating, but if they do this again with an equally amazing lineup, The Roots Picnic will be worth a yearly pilgrimage to Philly. Below, our pictures of the the day's action.

Related Stories:
· Live Music coverage [Jaunted]
· Philadelphia Travel coverage [Jaunted]]]> Hunter Walker 2008-06-09T17:15:01-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/