Don’t get me wrong, I like a music festival as much as the next guy. That said, the shit that music festivals have tried to pull recently will sour anyone on the idea of attending one.

From dirty spaces to careless organizers to whatever the hell this is, it really seems that music festivals give more of a shit about getting your dollar than actually putting on a good experience. Who woulda thought?!?!

The latest entrant to the list of terrible music festivals is last weekend’s Roots Picnic in Philadelphia.

To start, we should be fair and say that some of the issues weren’t really the organizers’ fault. It had rained in the days leading up to the festival, meaning that things were going to be muddy no matter what they did.

Still, that doesn’t mean that the many, many other complaints about it weren’t justified. People reported waiting hours and hours to enter, with some claiming they weren’t able to enter at all even though they had purchased a ticket.

Not only that, but many people purchased VIP tickets — so many, in fact, that the VIP line was substantially longer than the normal line. What did these people get for their extra dollars? According to a piece in Philadelphia Magazine, people with “Plus” tickets were given, well, nothing.

Maybe there was a plan to give them extras at some point, but it seems that all they got were soggy clothes and a lesson about going to music festivals.

Here are some clips from the event:

This is what people paid their hard earned money for https://t.co/XNI7jpwGUvpic.twitter.com/VlwSBygnip

— pink pilates princess (@KUNTAKUNTY) June 1, 2025

@chocolatebunney72

Roots Picnic 2025!! Philadelphia

♬ original sound - NikkiLatrice

@blkgirlsoftlife#rootspicnic#rootspicnic2025#vipsilver#concerts#fyrefestival#festival#philly#philadelphia♬ Best of Beautiful - JAYBeatz

@blkgirlsoftlife#rootspicnic#rootspicnic2025#vipsilver#concerts#fyrefestival#festival#philly#philadelphia♬ Best of Beautiful - JAYBeatz

@djneysay Roots picnic Day 1 was a mess. @Roots Picnic #rootspicnic#rootspicnic2025#philly♬ original sound - DJNeySay