D’Angelo to Perform in Front of Full Audience for the First Time in Nine Years at Roots Picnic

D'Angelo will make his grand return to the stage at the upcoming 17th installment of Roots Picnic in Philadelphia.

On Monday (Feb. 17), the full Roots Picnic 2025 lineup was announced. Among the announced performers are Meek Mill, Lenny Kravitz, GloRilla and Tems. Jeezy is also slated to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his 2005 album Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101.

But the most surprising name is D'Angelo, who has not performed in front of a full audience in almost a decade. Some of his more recent engagements included a Verzuz at an almost empty Apollo Theater in 2021. At the festival, which will be held from May 31 to June 1 at The Mann in Fairmount Park, the 4-time Grammy winner will be backed by The Roots.

While D'Angelo's most recent album is 2014's Black Messiah, last year, he appeared on the Jay-Z-assisted "I Want You Forever" from The Book of Clarence soundtrack.

Last September, Raphael Saddiq teased on the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast that D'Angelo would soon be releasing his fourth LP.

"But I think back to D, I think he's in an amazing space. He's working on six pieces right now," Saddiq said on the episode.

"And he seems super excited. He's in control of his own destiny at this point. It's no management. He got a management team, but I'm saying they can't make him do anything he don't want to do. I'm sure of that. And he knows it's on him now. And I think that's a different angle that he's coming from."

Tickets for Roots Picnic will be available on Tuesday (Feb. 18).