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Use mdy dates|date=November 2011: This article is about the hip-hop festival, for the LL Cool J song see Rock the Bells (song) . Infobox music festival| music_festival_name = Rock the Bells | location = United States | years_active= 2004 present | founders = Guerilla Union |dates = Mid to Late Summer | genre = Hip hop music | website = http://rockthebells.net Rock The Bells Official Website Rock the Bells is an annual hip-hop festival that originally took place in Southern California only, but has since toured throughout the world. The concert features a line-up of high-profile alternative hip-hop artists, often headlined by a more mainstream artist. The first festival was held in 2004, featuring a re-united Wu-Tang Clan , who performed four months before Ol' Dirty Bastard 's death. That festival is covered in depth by a documentary film also called Rock the Bells .
Nas , KRS-One Special Guest, Redman (rapper) Living Legends , TONES , DJ Q-bert , Guru from Gang Starr , Cut Chemist from Jurassic 5 , DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill , Non Phixion , Supernatural (rapper)|Supernatural , The Visionaries , Oh No (musician)|Oh No , Med, Percee P
2006 Festival
Date
City
Venue
Lineup
August 5
San Bernardino , California
National Orange Show
Wu-Tang Clan , Lauryn Hill - Special Guest, Mos Def , Talib Kweli , Redman (rapper)
The concept was taken from the original, highly successful annual West-Coast hip-hop festival and transformed into a full-fledged United States tour.
Date
City
Venue
November 21
Washington, DC
9:30 Club
November 22
Myrtle Beach, SC
House of Blues
November 24
Greensboro, NC
The N Club
November 25
Hartford, CT
Webster
November 26
Allentown, PA
Crocodile Rock Cafι
November 28
New York, NY
BB Kings
November 30
Boston, MA
Avalon
December 1
Providence, RI
Lupos Heartbreak Hotel
December 2
Buffalo, NY
Buffalo Ballroom
December 3
Burlington, VT
Higher Ground
December 6
Chicago, IL
House of Blues
December 8
Park City, UT
Harry O
December 9
Denver, CO
Ogden Theatre
December 12
Vancouver, BC
Plush Nightclub
December 13
Seattle, WA
The Showbox
December 14
Portland, OR
colspan=12
December 15
Sacramento, CA
Empire
December 16
San Francisco, CA
Mezzanine
December 20
Los Angeles, CA
House of Blues
December 21
San Diego, CA
House of Blues
December 22
Anaheim, CA
House of Blues
Lineup
Redman (rapper)
2007 Festival Series
Rock the Bells 2007 had 3 major venues scheduled; July 28 and July 29 in New York, August 11 in San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino , and August 18 in San Francisco. These select shows were headlined by a reunited Rage Against the Machine , and co-headlined by Wu-Tang Clan . The artists appearing in the shows appeared in rotating slots over the two-show weekend in New York, and selected performances for the remaining duration of the 20 shows, which were head-lined by the Wu-Tang Clan . Five cities also had a second stage called the Paid Dues Independent Hip Hop Stage. Rage Against the Machine was the festival's first non-hip hop act to be featured.
Date
City
Venue
July 26
Mansfield, MA
Tweeter Center
July 28
New York, NY
Randall's Island*^
July 29
New York, NY
Randall's Island*^
August 2
Atlanta, GA
Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheatre
August 3
Charlotte, NC
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
August 4
Miami, FL
Bayfront Park Amphitheatre
August 7
Dallas, TX
Smirnoff Music Center
August 8
Houston, TX
Reliant Park
August 11
San Bernardino, CA
Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen*^
August 12
San Diego, CA
Coors Amphitheatre (parking lot)^
August 18
San Francisco, CA
McCovey Cove (parking lot)*^
August 21
Salt Lake City, UT
USANA Amphitheater
August 22
Denver, CO
Red Rocks Amphitheatre
August 25
Minneapolis, MN
The Myth
August 26
Chicago, IL
Charter One Pavilion
August 29
Chicago, IL
Charter One Pavilion
September 1
Honolulu, HI
Blaisdell Arena
Lineup
Main Stage: Rage Against the Machine *, Wu-Tang Clan , Cypress Hill , The Roots , Public Enemy (band)|Public Enemy , Erykah Badu , Rakim , Mos Def , Talib Kweli , Nas , Black Star (hip hop group)|Black Star * ( Mos Def and Talib Kweli ), EPMD , Pharoahe Monch , Immortal Technique , Jedi Mind Tricks , David Banner , UGK , Supernatural (rapper)|Supernatural , Rahzel , Murs (rapper)|Murs 3:16 .
Paid Dues Independent Hip Hop Stage^: MF DOOM , Living Legends , Felt (hip hop)
New York City Dates
In July 2007, the Rock the Bells festival came to New York City, and this event became particularly noteworthy. Upon selling out the massive Randall's Island venue very quickly, the one-day stop in NYC was expanded to two days, and a number of new and exclusive guests were added to the bills. The festival included the full Paid Dues festival lineup performing on a second stage, reunited headliners Rage Against the Machine and Wu-Tang Clan , guest appearances during the show (including Scott Ian performing Bring the Noise with Public Enemy (band)|Public Enemy ), a special performance of Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star|Black Star from Mos Def and Talib Kweli and one of the near-final performances of noted hip-hop luminary Pimp C .
Saturday July 28, 2007
Guerilla Union Main Stage
Paid Dues Independent Stage
valign="top" align="center" width=250 Rage Against the Machine Wu-Tang Clan Public Enemy (group)|Public Enemy Cypress Hill The Roots Nas Mos Def EPMD Pharoahe Monch MF Doom|DOOM Hieroglyphics (group)|Hieroglyphics Blackalicious Immortal Technique The Coup Jedi Mind Tricks Hosted by Rahzel , Supernatural (rapper)|Supernatural and Hi-Tek and featuring Mike Relm , Icy Ice, C-Minus, DJ Rocky Rock and DJ Mark Luv
valign="top" align="center" width=200 Felt (hip hop)|Felt Living Legends Brother Ali Sage Francis Cage (rapper)|Cage Mr. Lif The Grouch (rapper)|Grouch & Eligh Hangar 18 (rap group)|Hangar 18 Blueprint (rapper)|Blueprint Lucky I Am
Sunday July 29, 2007
Guerilla Union Main Stage
Paid Dues Independent Stage
valign="top" align="center" width=250 Rage Against the Machine Wu-Tang Clan Public Enemy (group)|Public Enemy Cypress Hill Erykah Badu Rakim Mos Def Talib Kweli MF Doom|DOOM Pharoahe Monch Immortal Technique Boot Camp Clik UGK Jedi Mind Tricks Hosted by Rahzel , Supernatural (rapper)|Supernatural and Hi-Tek and featuring Mike Relm , C-Minus and DJ Rocky Rock
valign="top" align="center" width=200 Felt (hip hop)|Felt Living Legends Brother Ali Sage Francis Cage (rapper)|Cage Mr. Lif The Grouch (rapper)|Grouch & Eligh Hangar 18 (rap group)|Hangar 18 Blueprint (rapper)|Blueprint Lucky I Am
2008 Festival Series
2008 also marks the first year that ROCK THE BELLS will go global with four stops in Europe and one in Japan. Highlights of the series include a first time date in Toronto, plus a return to the Glen Helen Pavilion in San Bernardino, CA where last years show sold out with a capacity crowd of 45,000 people.
Main Stage: A Tribe Called Quest , The Pharcyde - Special Guests, Nas , Ghostface KillahBigbox Culture Club Stage*: Spank Rock / Amanda Blank , The Cool Kids , Kidz in the Hall , DJ Afrika Bambaataa , Flosstradamus , Wale , Santigold|Santogold , Kid Sister , B.o.B. , Tyga , Jay Electronica , Devlin & Darko, Ninjasonik, Blaqstarr , Pase Rock, Plastic Little (band)|Plastic Little , The Pack (group)|The Pack .
valign="top" align="center" width=400 Nas & Damian Marley Wu-Tang Clan (New York City only) Cypress Hill (Calgary only) Mos Def (Toronto only) Ice Cube (rapper)|Ice Cube (San Bernardino only) The Roots Common (rapper)|Common Busta Rhymes Big Boi EPMD House of Pain featuring La Coka Nostra Reflection Eternal Tech N9ne Dragon Fli Empire K'naan Raekwon Chali 2na The Knux
Paid Dues Independent Hip Hop Stage
valign="top" align="center" width=350 RZA GZA Slaughterhouse (group)|Slaughterhouse Slum Village Evidence (musician)|Evidence & The Alchemist (entertainer)|Alchemist M.O.P. Psycho Realm Buckshot (rapper)|Buckshot Necro (rapper)|Necro Sage Francis Eyedea & Abilities Tabi Bonney Mystik Journeymen Mickey Factz B. Dolan Short Dawg Hosted by KRS-One , Supernatural (rapper)|Supernatural , Murs (rapper)|Murs and Pete Rock
Surprise Acts
valign="top" align="center" width=350 Washington, D.C. Skillz AZ (rapper)|AZ Styles P Pharoahe Monch Boston Krizz Kaliko Kutt Calhoun New York City Jadakiss Ice-T The LOX DJ Premier Styles P Method Man U-God
2010 Festival Series
On the evening of May 24, 2010 Guerilla Union held the Rock the Bells Launch Party at Key Club in Hollywood, CA. The launch party featured surprise guest performances, and the official announcement of the 2010 season lineup. New to the festival this year is a "Classics" theme; the headlining acts will be performing the following classic hip-hop albums in their entirety: A Tribe Called Quest performing Midnight Marauders , Snoop Dogg (with Warren G , Tha Dogg Pound , Lady of Rage and RBX ) performing Doggystyle , Wu-Tang Clan (entire group, with Boy Jones first son of Ol' Dirty Bastard ) performing Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) , Rakim performing Paid in Full (album)|Paid in Full , KRS-One performing Criminal Minded (album)|Criminal Minded , Slick Rick performing The Great Adventures of Slick Rick , and DJ Premier and Lauryn Hill as special guests. Unannounced guest appearances included The Madd Rapper , Large Professor , Busta Rhymes , Skyzoo , Swizz Beatz , and Nas .
valign="top" align="center" width=400 Snoop Dogg with Warren G , Tha Dogg Pound , Lady of Rage and RBX A Tribe Called Quest Wu-Tang Clan (with Boy Jones, Ol' Dirty Bastard|ODB 's first born son) Lauryn Hill|Ms. Lauryn Hill Rakim KRS-One (with Black Moon (group)|Black Moon ) Slick Rick DJ Premier
Second Stage
valign="top" align="center" width=350 Street Sweeper Social Club Murs (rapper)|Murs & 9th Wonder Wiz Khalifa Clipse Immortal Technique Brother Ali Jedi Mind Tricks Supernatural (rapper)|Supernatural DJ Muggs with Ill Bill DJ Rocky Rock Big Sean Yelawolf Hosted by WQHT|Peter Rosenberg , D. Schwartz and K-Salaam
2011 Festival Series
On the evening of May 24, 2011 Guerilla Union once again held the Rock the Bells Launch Party. Rapper Supernatural (rapper)|Supernatural revealed the lineup for this year's edition of the festival. Keeping in the spirit of the 2010 artists, the more prolific acts on this year's festival will be performing a selection of "classic" albums in their entirety. These include Ms. Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill , Nas' Illmatic , Erykah Badu's Baduizm , Cypress Hill's Black Sunday (album)|Black Sunday , Mos Def & Talib Kweli's Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star|Black Star , Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... , Mobb Deep's The Infamous , GZA's Liquid Swords , Souls of Mischief's 93 'til Infinity , Black Moon's Enta da Stage and Masta Killa's No Said Date . Additionally, Curren$y and Mac Miller will be appearing exclusively on the west coast dates while Evidence will appear only on the East Coast. More recently, rapper Common has been added to three shows, performing his album Be (Common album)|Be . http://rockthebells.net/tickets Tickets and Lineups The Boston show originally scheduled for September 10 was postponed until September 24 before being officially cancelled. Problems cited include: weather and scheduling conflicts.
valign="top" align="center" width=400 Nas with AZ (rapper)|AZ , Pete Rock and DJ Premier Lauryn Hill|Ms. Lauryn Hill Erykah Badu * Cypress Hill Black Star (group)|Black Star Common (entertainer)|Common * Random Axe * Hosted by Peter Rosenberg
Paid Dues Stage
valign="top" align="center" width=350 Immortal Technique MF DOOM|DOOM Slaughterhouse (group)|Slaughterhouse Big K.R.I.T. Souls of Mischief Evidence (musician)|Evidence * Blu (rapper)|Blu + Exile (producer)|Exile + Fashawn Macklemore|Macklemore & Ryan Lewis * Freddie Gibbs Roc Marciano Hosted by Murs (rapper)|MURS
36 Chambers Stage
valign="top" align="center" width=350 Raekwon + Ghostface Killah Mobb Deep GZA|Genius/GZA Black Moon (group)|Black Moon Mac Miller * Curren$y * Childish Gambino Masta Killa Killah Priest Hosted by the RZA , Supernatural (rapper)|Supernatural and Boy Jones
*Denotes that the artist will be appearing only in select cities
References
Reflist^ Tickets and Lineups The Boston show originally scheduled for September 10 was postponed until September 24 before being officially cancelled. Problems cited include: weather and scheduling conflicts.
External links
http://rockthebells.net Rock The Bells Official Website
http://guerillaunion.com Guerilla Union Official Website
http://guerillaunion.com/paiddues/ Paid Dues Official Website
http://thepunksite.com/media/thumbnails.php? album=167 Live photos from the 2009 Stop in Toronto
http://www.societyhae.com/video/rock-the-bells-hip-hop VIDEO Rock The Bells 2010 Hip Hop Quotables
http://www.iamhiphop.com/rockthebells/ Exclusive Footage of the Tour Official Website
http://www.rockthebellsmovie.com Rock The Bells Official Website for the film covering the 2004 festival
http://www.birthplacemag.com/2010/05/rock-the-bells-2010-lineup-lauryn-hill-a-tribe-called-quest-not-announced/ Rock the Bells 2010 Announcement
http://www.societyhae.com/photo/albums/rock-the-bells-2011-governor-s-island-nyc PHOTOS Rock The Bells 2011
Category:Music festivals in the United States Category:Festivals in California Category:Recurring events established in 2004 Category:Concert tours
