Rock the Bells

This article is about the hip-hop festival. For the LL Cool J song, see Rock the Bells (song).

Rock the Bells

Genre	Hip hop music
Dates	Mid to Late Summer
Location(s)	United States
Years active	2004 – present
Founded by	Guerilla Union
Website
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.

2004 Festival

Date	City												Venue												Lineup
July 17	San Bernardino, California												National Orange Show												Wu-Tang Clan, Redman, Sage Francis, Supernatural, DJ Nu-Mark of Jurassic 5, Fantastik 4our, DJ Mark Luv, DJ Icy Ice, DJ Abel.

2004 Festival #2

Date	City												Venue												Lineup
November 13	Anaheim, California												Anaheim Stadium Parking Lot												A Tribe Called Quest, Xzibit, Cypress Hill, Jurassic 5 – Special Guest, Little Brother, The CMA, Crown City Rockers, Self Scientific, DJ Revolution, DJ Mark Luv, DJ Icy Ice.

2005 Festival

Date	City												Venue												Lineup
July 30	San Bernardino, California												National Orange Show												Nas, KRS-One – Special Guest, Redman, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah (Cuban Linx), Living Legends, DJ Q-bert, Guru from Gang Starr, Cut Chemist from Jurassic 5, DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill, Non Phixion, Supernatural, The Visionaries, 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, De la Soul, Dilated Peoples, Living Legends, Aesop Rock w/Rob Sonic & DJ Big Whiz, Immortal Technique, B-Real from Cypress Hill, The Visionaries, Murs 3:16, Planet Asia, UGK, Dirty Heads w/ DJ Rocky Rock, Supernatural. Surprise performances by Black Sheep, DJ Kool and Sen Dog (alongside B-Real).
August 6	Concord, California												Sleep Train Pavilion												Wu-Tang Clan, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Redman, De la Soul, Living Legends, Immortal Technique, Murs 3:16, Zion-I, Supernatural, Planet Asia, Dirty Heads w/ DJ Rocky Rock.

2006 Club Tour

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 Café
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
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, Raekwon, Keith Murray, Supernatural, EPMD, Ghostface Killah, Pharoahe Monch, Smif-N-Wessun, Dirty Heads, DJ Kool.

2007 Festival Series

Wu-Tang Clan performing at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts on the opening night of the 2007 tour.

Rock the Bells 2007 had 3 major venues scheduled; July 28 and July 29 in New York, August 11 in 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	Clarkston, MI	DTE Energy
September 1	Honolulu, HI	Blaisdell Arena

Lineup
Main Stage: Rage Against the Machine, Wu-Tang Clan, Cypress Hill, The Roots, Public Enemy, Erykah Badu, Rakim, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Nas, Black Star (Mos Def and Talib Kweli), EPMD, Pharoahe Monch, Immortal Technique, Jedi Mind Tricks, David Banner, UGK, Supernatural, Rahzel, Murs 3:16.
Paid Dues Independent Hip Hop Stage^: MF DOOM, Living Legends, Felt, Sage Francis, Murs 3:16, Brother Ali, Cage, Mr. Lif, Living Legends The Grouch & Eligh, Hangar 18, Blueprint, Lucky I Am, The Coup, Blackalicious, Ice Water Inc., Sen Dog from Cypress Hill, Hieroglyphics.

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), a special performance of Black Star from Mos Def and Talib Kweli and one of the near-final performances of noted hip-hop luminary Pimp C.

Guerilla Union Main Stage	Paid Dues Independent Stage
Saturday July 28, 2007
Rage Against the Machine Wu-Tang Clan Public Enemy Cypress Hill The Roots Mos Def & Talib Kweli EPMD Pharoahe Monch DOOM Immortal Technique Jedi Mind Tricks Hosted by Rahzel, Supernatural and Hi-Tek and featuring Mike Relm, Icy Ice, C-Minus, DJ Rocky Rock and DJ Mark Luv	Felt Living Legends Brother Ali Sage Francis Cage Mr. Lif Grouch & Eligh Hangar 18 Blueprint Lucky I Am

Guerilla Union Main Stage	Paid Dues Independent Stage
Sunday July 29, 2007
Rage Against the Machine Wu-Tang Clan Public Enemy Cypress Hill Erykah Badu (did not perform) Rakim Mos Def Talib Kweli Pharoahe Monch Immortal Technique Boot Camp Clik UGK Jedi Mind Tricks Hosted by Rahzel, Supernatural and Hi-Tek and featuring Mike Relm, C-Minus and DJ Rocky Rock	Felt Living Legends Brother Ali Sage Francis Cage DOOM Mr. Lif Grouch & Eligh Hangar 18 Blueprint Lucky I Am

2008 Festival Series

Rakim performing at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland on July 27.

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 year’s show sold out with a capacity crowd of 45,000 people.

Date	City	Venue
July 19	Chicago, IL	First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
July 20	Toronto, ON	Canada Arrow Hall
July 26	Boston, MA	Comcast Center*
July 27	Columbia, MD	Merriweather Post Pavilion*
August 2	Miami, FL	Bicentennial Park
August 3	New York, NY	Jones Beach Theater*
August 9	San Bernardino, CA	Glen Helen Pavilion*
August 16	Mountain View, CA	Shoreline Amphitheatre
August 23	Denver, CO	Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre*
September 6	George, WA	Gorge Amphitheatre*

Lineup
Main Stage:A Tribe Called Quest, The Pharcyde- Special Guests, Nas, Ghostface and Raekwon, MF Doom, Rakim, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, De La Soul, Method Man & Redman, Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, Murs, Blue Scholars, Sage Francis, Little Brother, Jedi Mind Tricks. Bigbox Culture Club Stage*:Spank Rock/Amanda Blank, The Cool Kids, Kidz in the Hall, DJ Afrika Bambaataa, Flosstradamus, Wale, Santogold, Kid Sister, B.o.B, Tyga, Jay Electronica, Devlin & Darko, Ninjasonik, Blaqstarr, Pase Rock, Plastic Little, The Pack.

2008 International Festival Series

Date	City	Venue
October 31	Prague, Czech Republic	T-Moble Arena
November 1	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Heineken Music Hall
November 4	Stockholm, Sweden	Annexet
November 5	Helsinki, Finland	Helsinki Ice Hall
November 9	London, UK	Indigo2 @ The O2 Arena
November 10	Paris, France	Zenith

Lineup
Nas, Mos Def, De la Soul, The Pharcyde, Supernatural & Scratch, Epmd.

2009 International Festival Series

Date	City	Venue
June 27	Chicago, IL	First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
June 28	Detroit, MI	DTE Energy Music Theater
July 5	Toronto, ON	Molson Amphitheatre
July 12	Columbia, MD	Merriweather Post Pavilion
July 18	Boston, MA	Comcast Center
July 19	New York, NY	Jones Beach Theater
August 1	Burnaby, BC	Deer Lake Park
August 2	Calgary, AB	Shaw Millennium Park
August 6	Denver, CO	Red Rocks Amphitheatre
August 8	San Bernardino, CA	San Manuel Amphitheatre
August 9	Mountain View, CA	Shoreline Amphitheatre

Main Stage
Rock the Bells '09
Nas & Damian Marley Wu-Tang Clan (New York City only) Cypress Hill (Calgary only) Mos Def (Toronto only) Ice Cube (San Bernardino only) The Roots 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
RZA GZA Slaughterhouse Slum Village Evidence & Alchemist M.O.P. Psycho Realm Buckshot Necro Sage Francis Eyedea & Abilities Tabi Bonney Mystik Journeymen Mickey Factz B. Dolan Short Dawg Hosted by KRS-One, Supernatural, Murs and Pete Rock
Surprise Acts
Washington, D.C. Skillz 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, KRS-One performing 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.

Date
August 21	San Bernardino, CA	NOS Events Center
August 22	Mountain View, CA	Shoreline Amphitheatre
August 28	New York City, NY	Governor's Island
August 29	Columbia, MD	Merriweather Post Pavilion

Main Stage
Rock the Bells
Snoop Dogg with Warren G, Tha Dogg Pound, Lady of Rage and RBX A Tribe Called Quest Wu-Tang Clan (with Boy Jones, ODB's first-born son) Ms. Lauryn Hill Rakim KRS-One (with Black Moon) Slick Rick DJ Premier
Second Stage
Street Sweeper Social Club Murs & 9th Wonder Wiz Khalifa Clipse Immortal Technique Brother Ali Jedi Mind Tricks Supernatural DJ Muggs with Ill Bill DJ Rocky Rock Big Sean Yelawolf Hosted by 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 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, Mos Def & Talib Kweli's 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, Currensy 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.^[1]

Date	City	Venue
August 20	San Bernardino, CA	San Manuel Amphitheater
August 27	Mountain View, CA	Shoreline Amphitheater
September 3	New York City, NY	Governor's Island
September 24 (CANCELLED)	Mansfield, MA	Comcast Center

Rock the Bells Stage
Rock the Bells '11
Nas with AZ, Pete Rock and DJ Premier Ms. Lauryn Hill Erykah Badu* Cypress Hill Black Star Common* Random Axe* Hosted by Peter Rosenberg
36 Chambers Stage
Raekwon + Ghostface Killah Mobb Deep Genius/GZA Black Moon Mac Miller* Currensy* Childish Gambino Masta Killa Killah Priest Hosted by the RZA, Supernatural and Boy Jones
Paid Dues Stage
Immortal Technique DOOM Slaughterhouse Big K.R.I.T. Souls of Mischief Evidence* Blu + Exile + Fashawn Macklemore & Ryan Lewis* Freddie Gibbs Roc Marciano Hosted by MURS

*Denotes that the artist will be appearing only in select cities

2012 Festival Series

From early May to June, Guerilla Union unveiled the full lineup for the latest Rock the Bells festival series.^[2] It was also revealed that this year's festival will consist of three, two-day weekend events, with two shows on the west coast and one in the east.

San Bernardino, CA	Mountain View, CA	Holmdel, NJ
Rock the Bells '12
Nas Bone Thugs-n-Harmony Kid Cudi Wiz Khalifa J. Cole Atmosphere Common Ice Cube Method Man & Redman DMX + Eve Jadakiss Wu Block (featuring Raekwon + Ghostface Killah + Jadakiss + Sheek Louch + Styles P) Dipset Kendrick Lamar Currensy Sean Price Deltron 3030 Hit Squad 2 Chainz Tyga Pusha T Immortal Technique E-40 & Too Short DJ Quik Naughty by Nature Salt-n-Pepa Big Daddy Kane DJ Lance Rock & Friends Yelawolf Murs + Fashawn Prodigy Zion-I + Grouch + Eligh Schoolboy Q Ab-Soul Future Dom Kennedy Watsky Jay Rock* Hosted by RZA & MC Supernatural	Nas Bone Thugs-n-Harmony Kid Cudi J. Cole DMX + Eve Mac Miller Atmosphere Common Ice Cube Method Man & Redman Wu Block (featuring Raekwon + Ghostface Killah + Jadakiss + Sheek Louch + Styles P) ASAP Rocky Dipset Kendrick Lamar Deltron 3030 Hit Squad 2 Chainz Tyga Pusha T Immortal Technique DJ Quik Mix Master Mike Naughty by Nature Salt-n-Pepa Big Daddy Kane DJ Lance Rock & Friends Yelawolf Murs + Fashawn Slick Rick Zion-I + Grouch + Eligh Schoolboy Q Ab-Soul Dom Kennedy Action Bronson Watsky Jay Rock Hosted by RZA & MC Supernatural	Nas Bone Thugs-n-Harmony J. Cole Big Sean Common Ice Cube Method Man & Redman DMX + Eve + Jadakiss Wu Block (featuring Raekwon + Ghostface Killah + Jadakiss + Sheek Louch + Styles P) Dipset Currensy Sean Price Deltron 3030 Hit Squad 2 Chainz Tyga Pusha T Immortal Technique DJ Quik Mix Master Mike Naughty by Nature Salt-n-Pepa Big Daddy Kane DJ Lance Rock & Friends Yelawolf Murs + Fashawn Prodigy M.O.P. Slick Rick Zion-I + Grouch + Eligh Schoolboy Q Ab-Soul Future Dom Kennedy Action Bronson Watsky Jay Rock Hosted by RZA & MC Supernatural

2013 Festival Series

On May 14, Guerilla Union held a launch party in Los Angeles. At that event they announced performances by Black Hippy, Big K.R.I.T., Brother Ali, Chase & Status, Common, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (including a virtual performance by the late Eazy-E), Curren$y, Danny Brown, Dilated Peoples, Dizzy Wright, Dom Kennedy, E-40, Earl Sweatshirt, Hit-Boy, Hopsin, Immortal Technique, Jhene Aiko, Joey Badass and the Pro Era, Juicy J, Jurassic 5, Kid Cudi, Lecrae, Logic (rapper), Mimosa, Rakim, Riff Raff, Snow tha Product, Talib Kweli, Tech N9ne, Too Short, Tyler, The Creator and Wu-Tang Clan (including a virtual performance by the late Ol' Dirty Bastard). This years it will be hosted by Murs and Hot 97's Peter Rosenberg. This year there will be eight dates, four of which take place on the west coast and four on the east coast.^[3]

References

↑ 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.
↑ 2012 Lineup
↑ http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2013/05/rock-the-bells-2013-to-feature-hologram-performances-of-ol-dirty-bastard-and-eazy-e/

^ 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.