David Byrne, Nile Rodgers & Alicia Keys Highlight Roots Picnic NYC Day Two – Recap & Photos

Words & Images by: Bryan Lasky

Roots Picnic NYC :: Day Two – 10.02.16 :: Bryant Park :: New York City, NY

View Bryan’s photos in the gallery below his recap as well as video of The Roots & David Byrne.

Billing it as a Love Letter to NYC, The Roots took the stage to close out the first Roots Picnic NYC with a guest-filled set. Unlike Day One, the hosts didn’t play any of their own songs and instead only performed as the backup to a cast of legendary artists. David Byrne was up first and the Talking Heads co-founder welcomed the crowd and thanked The Roots for having him there. Byrne then premiered new music from his upcoming play about Joan of Arc. The songs sounded great and David’s voice was pristine. To close the mini-set they performed a funky version of “Born Under Punches.”

As soon as he left the stage Tariq introduced Nile Rodgers, who brought some of The Chic Organization with him to perform an amazing set of music. Moving from “Le Freak” to “I Want Your Love” to a string of Nile’s No. 1 hits, Bryant Park had the opportunity to have some Sunday fun. Nile addressed the crowd about his cancer scare five and a half years ago and boasted that he is now cancer free. After that they moved onto Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” which he recorded with the French duo on their award winning album. The set ended with with “Good Times” and even saw New York City’s legendary Sugar Hill Gang come out to rap a little.

Surprise guest Alicia Keys was next and tore through a five song set. The crowd showed the singer as much love as they could as she played “Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart,” “You Don’t Know My Name” and “Unthinkable.” Alicia told the crowd how special it was to be back on stage in her home of New York and that the next song was a request from Questlove before singing a version of “Teenage Love Affair.” Closing out her set with an inspiring “No One” she gave the crowd a kiss and left the stage.

Comedian Amy Schumer then made a surprise appearance to introduce the Wu-Tang Clan and the legendary crew came on stage and closed the festival down with a half hour set of hit after hit mostly off of their debut Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Bryant Park was filled to the brim with people throwing up the Wu-Tang symbol into the air as they rapped along. Redman made a surprise appearance to rap alongside Method Man in the middle of the set.

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Watch David Byrne lead The Roots on “Born Under Punches” captured by SuperHappy Dad: