The Roots play CMU tonight, free admission

The…The Roots, Nouveau Riche Tonight, 8 p.m. Carnegie Mellon University CFA Lawn Free admission

Music from roots to riches will infuse the CFA lawn tonight in a concert sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon University Activities Board.

Philly-based band Nouveau Riche opens for headliner The Roots in a show that kicks off at 8 p.m. A Grammy Award-winning ensemble, The Roots is touring in promotion of its latest album, Rising Down, set to drop April 29.

The concert, funded by the Carnegie Mellon student activities fee as a part of CMU’s annual Spring Carnival, takes place alongside other end-of-term festivities. The Weigand Gym, located on the Carnegie Mellon campus, will serve as a rain site.

Roots’ band members include vocalist Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, percussionists Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson and Frank Knuckles, keyboardist Kamal Gray, guitarist Kirk “Captain Kirk” Douglas and bassist Owen Biddle.

Brian Belardi, a senior chemistry major and co-chair of Activities Board Concerts, helped bring The Roots to CMU’s Carnival.

“This is probably the most excited the campus has been for a concert in some time,” Belardi said in a phone interview.

“Students are extremely happy that we could get a group with such a large audience that includes people interested in indie rock, hip-hop and rap,” Belardi said. He’s seen The Roots several times before, and plans to attend tonight’s performance.

“They really put on a show from start to finish,” he said, “and I’m just excited to see them live again, to see how much they’ve evolved the show from last year.”