After a rainy-messy Saturday, good vibes returned to The Roots Picnic on Sunday

And on Sunday, the sun shined down on The Roots Picnic.

Saturday’s opening day of the annual Black music and cultural festival curated by Philadelphia and The Tonight Show band The Roots wasn’t anybody’s idea of a picnic in the park. Heavy rains swamped the grounds of the Mann Center. Efforts to dry up the mud with mulch delayed opening by nearly 2½ hours.

Lines to get in were ridiculously long, and fans expressed outrage online, demanding refunds that aren’t going to come, with The Picnic being a rain or shine event. Moreover, all acts slated for Saturday did perform, albeit often hours after they were scheduled.

So, were the vibes any better on Sunday?

They were. Bright blue skies and a not-so-moist Mann campus put the fest on firmer footing. Security lines moved quickly and waits were short. Sunday also had a stronger lineup, particularly since The Roots’ own set had been moved from Saturday, beefing up what was already a formidable selection of acts.

And, oh yeah, it also helped that Lenny Kravitz is a perfect festival act. Is the ageless singer-guitarist — who looked impossibly fabulous at 61 in his mesh shirt, leather jacket, dreads, and shades — an adventurous or unpredictable artist?

No. He’s a rock star with a repertoire of immediately recognizable, singalong-able songs known to pretty much everyone in the crowd, Black and white, young and not-so-young.

And after the grueling grind of Day 1, Picnickers needed a dose of Day 2 early evening magic hour catharsis of songs that get straight to the point of our communal desire to rise above the grind.

“I want to get away, I want to fly awaaayyyyy, yeah!”

Indeed we do. Nice job, Lenny. “Let Love Rule!” (That song was performed as an encore, an old-school ritual nobody else at The Picnic bothered with.)

Kravitz’s set on the sunbathed Fairmount Park stage overlapped somewhat with The Roots’ performance inside the Mann’s TD Pavilion. So that meant leaving The Roots early, which was difficult to do.

The band sounded magnificent. Black Thought, Questlove, and crew — joined by two guests in incomparable beat boxer Rahzel the Godfather of Noise, and Philly spoken-word poet Ursula Rucker, aptly introduced by Black Thought as a “force majeure” — were celebrating the 30th anniversary of their second album, idiosyncratically punctuated Do You Want More?!!!??!

It may not be the best Roots album, but it was a pivotal one in their career and to hear them dig into songs like “Mellow My Man” and “I Remain Calm” with three decades of subsequent know-how, was a consistently illuminating kick.

And it was also moving, because back in 1995, The Roots were a two-MC band, with Black Thought sharing space with fellow rapper Malik B., who died in 2020. On Sunday, Black Thought shouted him out, then took on his verses himself.

The J. Period Mixtape, which pairs the eponymous DJ with Black Thought and other guest rappers, is always an “if you know you know” Picnic highlight.

This year’s afternoon set on the Fairmount Park stage, which preceded The Roots by two hours, was no exception, thanks in part to mister #IYKYK himself, Virginia Beach rapper Pusha-T.

King Push was joined by surprise guest No Malice, his brother and partner in the razor-sharp duo Clipse, which will release their first album in 16 years, Let God Sort Em Out, in July. Also on hand in one of the most enjoyable hours of the weekend: Georgia rapper 2 Chainz, who led the crew through his 2012 hit “I’m Different” and proclaimed Black Thought “a wizard.”

Other before-nightfall highlights included D.C. Go-Go group the Backyard Band, who got dancers up out of their seats at the Mann stage. The 12-piece syncopated funk band led by Anwan Glover — who played Slim Charles on HBO’s The Wire, hosted singer CeeLo Green — who headlined the very first Roots Picnic in 2008 — and also showcased vocalist Tiffany “Sweetthang” White on a Go-Go-fied version of Adele’s “Hello.”

Gospel has become part of The Picnic playbook, and over on the intimate tree-lined Parkside Stage, Kirk Franklin’s Sunday School gave praise music its Sunday due. Franklin, who performed at The Picnic in 2022, wasn’t there himself, but a DJ lifted spirits with his feel-good jams “Brighter Day” and “Something About the Name Jesus,” as well as Tye Tribbett’s “Victory.”

Also of note: Laila!, the teenage singer who made a name for herself with last year’s viral hit “Not My Problem,” is a Roots Picnic legacy act, as the daughter of Yasiin Bey, the friend of The Roots formerly known as Mos Def. Her set showed promise, but she came off as an artist still in the development stage.

More mature talents were on display on the Fairmount Park stage by house and R&B legend CeCe Peniston and South Jersey dance and electro-queen Crystal Waters, both backed by Philly DJ Rich Medina, who doubled up on Sunday, teaming with Cosmo Baker to create a daytime version of their legendary Philly hip-hop night The Remedy.

Waters took a star turn. Backed by dancers draped in fetish wear, she strutted to center stage in an all-black-and-metallic outfit and broke out her house hits “100% Pure Love,” “Makin’ Happy,” and “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless).” The singer, who grew up in Deptford, Gloucester County, took a moment to take in the crowd and said: “It feels good to be home.”

Closing out The Picnic was left to a hometown hero: Meek Mill, who took the Fairmount Park stage on schedule at 10 and delivered 50 minutes of shouted-out street raps, motivational pep talk, and anti-violence messaging.

“Find a way to love your people,” the Phillies cap-wearing star urged. “Believe in your people.” He honored slain rappers PnB Rock and LGP Qua, and brought out Philly vocalist Fridayy, along with podcasters Gillie da King and Wallo267.

The artist, whose new single with G Herbo is called “Survivor’s Guilt,” assured everyone that if they stay on the grind and keep chasing dreams, they “can surpass [people] like me.”

And of course, he finished with his ultimate Philly anthem “Dreams and Nightmares,” which he barely rapped a word of himself because he didn’t need to. The crowd took care of that as if it were their birthright, as proud Philadelphians.