Lipton will celebrate its 125th anniversary with a free music festival in North Charleston complete with top-shelf acts and food from the Immortal Lobster, Zombie Bob’s Pizza, Diggity Doughnuts, and more. These are some of the performances you can look forward to catching on Saturday:

Hip-Hop> The Roots

It’s interesting to think that there are some people out there who might only know the Roots as the house band on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. In reality, this hip-hop band — formed in 1987 by drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and can include anywhere from seven to 11 pieces — has had a fascinating career. They’ve released 11 studio albums, scored hit singles, won three Grammys, performed at the Montreaux Jazz Festival, and collaborated with Elvis Costello, John Legend, and Betty Wright, among many others. The Roots are also one of the first real “bands” in the history of hip-hop, relying on live instruments rather than programmed backing tracks. Their infectious neo-soul/funk sound has helped them cross over to television and films as well, and Questlove and his blown-out Afro might make him just as recognizable as Fallon. —Vincent Harris

Indielectronica > Passion Pit

Cambridge, Mass.-based Passion Pit formed in 2007, coalescing around singer-songwriter and keyboardist Michael Angelakos and taking their name from a slang term for teen makeout-friendly drive-in movies. Working with a semi-regular quintet that’s heavy on the synthesizers, Angelakos’s songs are propulsive and danceable, with just enough grit to keep them from sliding into too-polished pop. Layers of keyboards, effects, and massed harmony vocals create a dreamlike, shimmering surface over most of Passion Pit’s songs, and catchy, melodic hooks drive the sound home. It’s one of those hybrid sounds that makes something new out of old elements. And speaking of old elements, the band’s newest album, Kindred, goes even further back into ’80s dance music, emphasizing that decade’s trademark-thin, skittering electronic percussion while pumping up the anthemic, full-throated choruses. —VH

Trance Pop> St. Lucia

Jean-Philip Grober began synth-pop project St. Lucia as a solo venture, exploring classic pop beats with smooth, spacey melodies. However, his wife Patricia Beranek turned the solo project into a duo when she came on board as vocalist and keyboardist. Having grown up in South Africa, Grober’s influences hail from his youth. The band’s latest album art features African masks as a tribute to Grober’s birthplace St. Lucia, South Africa. Beranek also has foreign roots; she was born in Germany and studied in Liverpool, where she and Grober met. Their catchiest track “Elevate,” off the 2013 disc When the Night, brings with it Ghost Beach vibes with a splash of Bombay Bicycle Club and Depeche Mode thrown in. However, Grober does not sound like anyone else exclusively; he creates something vibrantly unique amongst staccato synths and cloudy backdrops. —Kalyn Oyer

Danceable Alt-Pop> Walk the Moon

Cincinnati-based alt-pop sensation Walk the Moon has graced radio airwaves with irresistibly groovy vibrations, like “Shut up and Dance” from 2014’s Talking is Hard. But you can’t count out obscure tracks, like “Quesadilla,” with its impeccably catchy guitar riffs and yearning yet lighthearted lyrics, or “Aquaman,” with its ’80s beats, introspective vocals and Phil Collins-esque drums. Overall, lyrics explode in youthful vitality, butterfly-inducing nostalgia, and playful romance, while a contagious, feel-good attitude rushes through the up-tempo drumbeats of Sean Waguman and rock-driven electric guitar of Eli Maiman. The animated, pop-punk-edged vocals of Nicholas Petricca emulate a mix between Brendon Urie and Adam Levine. And though the band has traded out members over their half-decade run, the sound remains the same. —KO

The Schedule

2:30 p.m. Denitia and Sene

3:30 p.m. Outasight

4:30 p.m. BØRNS

5:30 p.m. St. Lucia

6:45 p.m. Walk The Moon

8:15 p.m. The Roots

10 p.m. Passion Pit

Parking: Be More Tea is set on the scenic Riverfront Park, though no parking is available there. You can park for free at the event’s satellite lot located at the corner of Rivers and McMillan Avenues, North Charleston. Shuttles will take you to and from the park from 12 p.m. until 12:30 a.m.

Tickets: The event is free but ticketed. The Bridge 105.5 is giving away tickets today at 3 to 7 p.m. at Bay Street Biergarten (549 E Bay St.) and tomorrow (Thursday) at Republic (462 King St.) from 5 to 7 p.m.For ticket information visit bemoreteafestival.com


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