ROCK THE BELLS 2009 FESTIVAL SERIES
ROCK THE BELLS - North America’s only hip-hop festival tour powered by Guerilla Union and Budweiser, will be back in 2009: bigger, better and stronger.
The summer trek will kick off June 27 and run on consecutive weekends through August 9 in ten cities across North America including Toronto, Washington D.C., Boston, New York, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and Vancouver. Each stop will feature 25 acts on two stages, a vendor village, surprise performances and more. Exact dates, venues and ticketing information will be unveiled at a later date. Fans are encouraged to visit www.guerillaunion.com to sign up for their newsletter with up-to-date information on the tour, as well as visiting media partner MySpace Music at www.myspace.com/music.
Anticipated performance highlights of this year’s festival series include: headliners Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley who will perform material off their June release Distant Relatives, promising to deliver the “soundtrack to global change” and they’ll focus on bringing attention to social issues in Africa; The Roots will break away from their “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” residency for some live dates; and, for the first time, KRS-One—known as the purveyor of the Temple of Hip Hop and his activism with the “Stop The Violence” campaign—will join MC Supernatural, Murs and Pete Rock as hosts for RTB, as well as serving as a performer.
Also confirmed for ROCK THE BELLS is the long-awaited reunion of the Irish-influenced hip-hop trio House of Pain consisting of all the original members (Everlast, Danny Boy and DJ Lethal) featuring La Coka Nostra, who will perform material off their early 1990’s releases. Reflection Eternal is another notable collaboration for Rock the Bells with the union of Talib Kweli and Hi Tek. The complete list of participating artists for the tour follows below.
“On behalf of Guerilla Union and Myspace.com we are proud to announce the 2009 Rock The Bells Festival Series. Since 2003 we have committed ourselves to producing a world-class hip-hop platform dedicated to conscious, hardcore and independent movements,” states Rock the Bells founder Chang Weisberg of Guerilla Union. “Our festival has been blessed to host so many historic performances and has been the barometer for hip-hop culture every summer. This year will be no different”.
Artists confirmed for this summer’s ROCK THE BELLS 2009 FESTIVAL SERIES include: Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, The Roots, Common, Big Boi (Outkast), KRS-One, House of Pain w/ all original members featuring La Coka Nostra, Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli + Hi Tek), Tech N9ne, RZA (Wu-Tang), Raekwon (Cuban Linx II), Sage Francis, Slaughterhouse (Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Royce Da 5’9,” Crooked I), M.O.P., Charlie 2na (Jurassic 5), Necro, Eyedea & Abilities, Evidence, Alchemist, Psycho Realm, Mystic Jouneymen (Sunspot Jonz + Lucky I Am), Mickey Facts, Tabi Bonney, Slum Village (T3, Baatin, Elzhi), Buckshot, K’naan
Hosted by KRS-One, Supernatural, Murs, Pete Rock
ROCK THE BELLS, presented by Guerilla Union since 2003, has established itself as a world-class hip-hop platform by hosting legendary performances by Rage Against the Machine, Jay-Z, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, The Pharcyde, Public Enemy, Lauryn Hill, Blackstar (Talib Kweli and Mos Def), Hieroglyphics, Living Legends, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, Cypress Hill and Jurassic 5 as well as reuniting Wu-Tang for their last performance with ODB in 2004. In 2008, Rock the Bells toured internationally for the first time in Prague, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Helsinki, Paris and London.
