The Roots kicked off their New York edition of their own Roots Picnic yesterday in Bryant Park as the band welcomed special guests Common, D’Angelo and John Mayer for a collaborative headlining set.

As Jambase reports, The Tonight Show house band’s set started with a segment of their own tunes before welcoming out longtime collaborator Common. The Roots and the Chicago rapper have a long history together, as Common appeared on the band’s Things Fall Apart record, recorded at New York’s Electric Lady Studios during the same time as D’Angelo’s iconic Voodoo album as well as projects from Erykah Badu and Common.

Later on, Mayer joined the fold for a series of his material backed by The Roots and John Mayer Trio bassist Pino Palladino. Mayer and The Roots performed some of his bigger hits like “Waiting on the World to Change” and “Gravity” along with a cover of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.”

The main event was in fact D’Angelo, who has a long history with The Roots as well. Among the highlights, Mayer once again rejoining on D’Angelo’s “Brown Sugar” as well as “Playa Playa” as well as tunes from D’Angelo’s latest Black Messiah.

The Roots Picnic concludes today with appearances from David Byrne, Nile Rodgers and Wu-Tang Clan backed by The Roots.