Though born and raised in Philadelphia, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson has become something of a New York City fixture ever since Jimmy Fallon brought in The Roots to be the house band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon more than a decade ago. If there’s a cool event in the city – a concert underplay, a charity fundraiser, a hard-to-get-into party – chances are high that Questo will be there, either as a guest enjoying himself or as a DJ providing the vibes based on his inestimable knowledge of music and music history.

Come September, the Grammy-winning hip-hop drummer and Oscar-winning filmmaker will be honored by New York’s City Parks Foundation with the SummerStage Icon Award at its annual fundraiser. The City Parks Foundation, through its Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage Festival, provides free arts and cultural programs to New Yorkers and helps bring public spaces to life (CPF describes its ethos as “thriving parks mean thriving communities”).

The organization’s 2025 dinner and dance party fundraiser will take place Sept. 25 at the SummerStage venue in Manhattan’s Central Park and will wrap with a private dance party DJ’d by Questlove. Additionally, the event will find the City Parks Foundation honoring Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment (Barclays Center/New York Liberty/Brooklyn Nets owners) with the People & Parks Award. Tables and tickets for the event are available here.

The Roots are slated to play SummerStage at Queens’ Flushing Meadows-Corona Park this Sunday (July 20). This year’s SummerStage lineup also includes Soccer Mommy, Femi Kuti & The Positive Force, Rakim, Celia Cruz Centennial Celebration, Big Freedia, Camilo, Jessica Pratt, Bob Sinclair, IZA, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Awich, Frankie Negrón, La Sonora Poceña and Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues. You can find more about the 2025 SummerStage lineup here.