Photos: Jay-Z at Roots Picnic in Philadelphia

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The Roots Picnic brought tens of thousands of people to Philadelphia’s Belmont Plateau over the weekend. Despite long wait times to get in, patience prevailed for those who witnessed Jay-Z’s headlining set.

In its 18th year, the festival brought out its biggest lineup to date for an estimated 80,000 attendees in Fairmount Park. Nearly 30 years after the release of his debut album, “Reasonable Doubt,” Jay-Z closed out the first night with Philadelphia’s very own The Roots as his backing band.

While Philadelphians packed the festival grounds over the weekend, plenty of people from outside the City of Brotherly Love made the trek, including Kiah VanTull from Brooklyn, New York.

“I haven’t been to Philly in years, probably since college trips, so it was really nice to see the cityscape,” VanTull said, with the Philadelphia skyline overlooking the festival grounds.