Tapas – The Pre Picnic Jam before the jam (the 4th Annual Roots Picnic) is being hosted tonight at The Legendary Dobbs and features performances from Dice Raw, Money Making Jam Boys, Rail Bird, Brass Heaven, and many more. Aside from the great lineup, the members of the Legendary Roots Crew will also be in attendance as well. Dice Raw, who made his first appearance with The Roots on 1994’s Do You Want More?!!!??! and has been collaborating with the group ever since, will be leading the pack this evening. He’s also teamed up with such heavy hitters like Jill Scott, Common, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli. Dice is currently working on his second solo album, which is scheduled to drop later this year, but in the meantime he continues to rock the mic with The Roots and Money Making Jam Boys. The Jam Boys features local natives Black Thought, Dice Raw, Truck North, P.O.R.N. and STS. The crew has worked together on past Roots albums, but officially formed Money Making Jam Boys in 2010, and recently released their debut The Prestige mixtape, which has true hip hop heads hollering for more. They will also be joined by NYC’s Rail Bird, the brainchild of bandleader Sarah K. Pedinotti, a.k.a. S.K.P., who mixes traditional pop elements with experimental ideas and her own unique voice to form the group’s distinctive sound, and Philly’s own Brass Heaven, who combine a variation of New Orleans Jazz (without its traditional syncopated drum beats) with a more laidback smooth and grooving style. So swing on by tonight and see what kind of surprises ?uestlove and company have in-store for us before their big all-day picnic tomorrow. The Legendary Dobbs, 304 South St., 6pm, $10, 21+ – Dan Brightcliffe
