The Roots to play their first headline shows in six years for Margate Summer Series and South Facing Festival

Having formed in the eighties, The Roots have become one of the best known and most respected hip-hop acts, as well as the official house band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and the masterminds behind yearly festival The Roots Picnic.

Joining them is the infamous New York trio De La Soul, who have recently celebrated 35 years since their debut album, 3 Feet High & Rising, and have have just become one of the first inductees into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame since 2021. The lineup will be completed by Los-Angeles quartet, The Pharcyde.

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“We are so excited to be bringing together one of the greatest hip hop line-ups in the last ten years featuring three truly ground-breaking live hip hop acts. We are making this into a real celebration of the genre and will be featuring plenty of special guest rappers and DJs to boot. I am sure this special event will be remembered for generations going forward," says Rob Waller, Founder and Programmer of the Margate Summer Series.

The Roots, De La Soul and The Pharcyde also join the lineup for the open-air concert series South Facing Festival, bringing together some of hip-hop’s most influential acts of all time to Crystal Palace Bowl on 1 August ahead of Margate Summer Series on 2 August.

“We are so excited in bringing together one of the greatest hip hop line-ups in the last ten years featuring three truly groundbreaking live hip hop acts. We are making this into a real celebration of the genre and we’ll be featuring plenty of special guest rappers and DJs to boot," says Rob Waller, promoter for South Facing Festival. "We are following in the footsteps of some of the most legendary London gigs that also took place at Crystal Palace Bowl such as Bob Marley and the Cure, and I am sure this special event will be remembered for generations going forward!”