Last time The Roots played as a group in these parts at House of Blues in 2008, they were just about to take up residence as Jimmy Fallon’s house band. They’ve spent two incarnations of Fallon’s late-night TV presence etching their groove into public consciousness and released seven records since. A place on the gilded, Motown-heavy Detroit soundtrack with “It Ain’t Fair” has The Roots on the road now at a fitting time for its message of outrage at injustice; Questlove told Variety the track is just as much about 1967 as it is 2017.
Singer Alice Smith is the most recent collaborator of note featured on The Roots’ rehearsal previews via Instagram. Witness below.
Presale tickets are available Tuesday morning for this third incarnation of A Night Of Symphonic Hip-Hop (priors were Common and Nelly.) And, on sale Friday: The Jesus And Mary Chain at Bomb Factory Nov. 5. S/O Preston Jones for these tips; he’s a must on Twitter.
