LOS ANGELES (December 9, 2024) – Today, the LA Phil and Live Nation Urbanannounce the return of GRAMMY® Award-winning multi-platinum hip-hop luminaries The Roots to the iconic Hollywood Bowl, with A Roots Picnic Experience: Class of ’95. Set to take place on Sunday, June 8, 2025, the one-night-only concert special will feature a lineup of A-list talent who made 1995 a year to remember in hip-hop history: Lil’ Kim, Redman & Method Man, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, DJ Quik, Raekwon, E-40, Goodie Mob, Havoc of Mobb Deep and more. The Roots will headline A Roots Picnic Experience: Class of ’95 and serve as the backing band for all guest performances. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, December 11, at 10 am PT, at hollywoodbowl.com. 

A Roots Picnic Experience: Class of ’95 follows last summer’s sold-out Roots Picnic: Hip-Hop is the Love of My Life at the Hollywood Bowl, which saw the band bring their iconic Roots Picnic experience and curation of artists to the West Coast for the first time. Roots Picnic: Hip-Hop is the Love of My Life featured special performances by The Roots, Queen Latifah, Common, Digable Planets, Arrested Development and more iconic acts that have helped define the genre over the last half century. The upcoming Roots Picnic Experience: Class of ’95 continues to build upon the renowned music festival, which Rolling Stone hails as “Hip-Hop’s Greatest Festival,” promising show-stopping performances, The Roots’ signature jam sessions and surprises throughout the evening.

On A Roots Picnic Experience: Class of ’95, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson comments, “Well: 1995 was our true arrival. Nineteen eighty-seven was the Year of the Creative Adhesive, the year that tied together Tariq’s world and my world in high school, and 1991 was the Year of the Green Light, the year we gave ourselves permission to take our resources and passion and pursue our dream. But 1995? That was the Year It All Came Together, the year when our first major release, Do You Want More?!!!??! was sent into the world. Hip-hop was an entirely new ballgame back then, on an entirely new playing field. Those were the days when there were still things like mainstream terrestrial radio, bloated video budgets, and creativity at both the regional and the global levels. Those were the days that produced classic album after classic album, unleashing countless new ideas about art. Those were the days when the world was our oyster. This is the story of those days.”

With the Hollywood Bowl serving as the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for over 100 years, the 2025 season continues the tradition of presenting classical concerts every Tuesday and Thursday night, featuring Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil, and a roster of star-studded guest conductors and artists. Jazz Plus nights offer a wide-ranging trip through the world of jazz and beyond, with the LA Phil’s Creative Chair for Jazz Herbie Hancock at the helm. Weekends will be filled with some of the biggest names in popular music, selections of films and film music, and the KCRW Festival featuring an eclectic array of exciting artists. Dates for other popular annual events at the Hollywood Bowl have also been scheduled, including Opening Night on Saturday, June 7, the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival on Saturday and Sunday, June 14 and 15, July Fourth Fireworks Spectacular featuring Earth, Wind & Fire, July 2, 3 & 4, Smooth Summer Jazz on Sunday, August 24, and Movie Night on Sunday, August 31.

The full Hollywood Bowl 2025 season will be announced in February 2025.

Tickets for A Roots Picnic Experience: Class of ‘95 at the Hollywood Bowl on June 8, 2025, go on sale Wednesday, December 11, 2024, at 10AM PT, and are available online at hollywoodbowl.com or via phone at 323 850 2000.

Tickets for the rest of the Hollywood Bowl 2025 summer season are on sale as follows:

• Subscription renewals available today, November 13, 2024.
• Group sales on sale the week of February 18, 2025.
• New subscriptions available February 18, 2025.
• "Create Your Own" packages available March 25, 2025.
• The Hollywood Bowl Box Office opens for single ticket sales May 6, 2025.

Programs, artists, prices, and dates subject to change. Ticket limits may apply.

For additional information, please visit: http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/

ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL

One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the Hollywood Bowl has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922 and plays host to the finest artists from all genres of music. For a century, the Bowl has been a Los Angeles County public park, operated in partnership with the LA Phil to welcome visitors from all over the world. It remains one of the best deals anywhere in Los Angeles; to this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many classical and jazz performances. In February 2024, the Hollywood Bowl was awarded the Outdoor Concert Venue of the Year award at the 35th Annual Pollstar Awards, an honor bestowed 16 previous times. For millions of music lovers across Southern California, the Hollywood Bowl is synonymous with summer. hollywoodbowl.com

ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

Under the leadership of Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil offers live performances, media initiatives and learning programs that inspire and strengthen communities in Los Angeles and beyond. The Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra is the foundation of the LA Phil’s offerings, which also include a multi-genre, multidisciplinary presenting program and such youth development programs as YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles). Performances are offered on four historic stages—Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, The Ford and Beckmen YOLA Center—as well as through a variety of media platforms. In all its endeavors, the LA Phil seeks to enrich the lives of individuals and communities through musical, artistic and learning experiences that resonate in our world today.

ABOUT LIVE NATION URBAN

Live Nation Urban (LNU) remains North America’s preeminent producer of concert experiences, festivals, and platforms headlined, curated, and owned by black talent. Operating in partnership with Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s leading live entertainment company, the company sets the tone for culture with over a dozen sought-after festival brands such as Roots Picnic, Broccoli City, Exodus Music & Arts Festival, ONE Musicfest, Strength of a Woman, and more. Beyond their captivating live events, Live Nation Urban has established themselves as key social architects in black culture with their innovative initiatives that include Juneteenth: A Global Celebration (broadcast on CNN), Kerry Washington’s THICKER THAN WATER book tour, and a special Hip-Hop 50 event at the home of Vice President Kamala Harris in addition to tours by artists such as Ari Lennox, Kirk Franklin, Davido, LL Cool J, Jill Scott, Jodeci, and Raphael Saadiq. The LNU-produced “A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop” special garnered a nomination at the NAACP Image Awards for “Outstanding Variety Show.” Live Nation Urban continues to grow across hip-hop, R&B, soul, and gospel as the most trusted purveyor of live urban music. For additional information, visit https://livenationurban.com/.