Dave Chappelle hosted a socially distanced music and comedy event over the July 4th weekend in his hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio. The lineup featured Erykah Badu, the Roots’ Questlove, Common, Talib Kweli, Michelle Wolf, Tiffany Haddish, Michael Che, Jon Hamm and Chappelle himself.
Citybeat detailed the show on Friday, July 3rd, noting that attendees were required to have temperature checks, wear masks and maintain six feet of distance, sitting in pairs of folding chairs staggered across a lawn.
Spin recounted the set from Saturday, the 4th, which featured an audience of 400 people, with each attendee tested to COVID-19 prior to the fest. Highlights reportedly included Badu singing Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Chappelle tackling Radiohead’s “Creep,” Common and Kweli teaming with Chappelle to cover Eric B. and Rakim’s “Paid in Full” and Hamm belting Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
Questlove enthused about the show on Instagram. “Drove 900+ miles to a hippie farm town, got tested 2ce & mask/rantined & got on a drumset for the first time in 4 months,” he wrote. “To be honest a lot of us were afraid of how rusty we’ve become since March. This was missed & needed (the camaraderie (been a min since I’ve seen/had meaningful conversations w people I know in the flesh) worth the effort. I can’t wait to play music w my pals again.”
Chappelle filmed a recent Yellow Springs event for his Netflix special 8:46, in which he addressed the death of George Floyd.
