Rock the Bells, the traveling hip-hop festival he founded, is recognized as the most consistently successful tour of its kind: a beacon to fans of indie-leaning and old school rap with a track record of safety and high sound quality that stands virtually alone among hip-hop arena tours. As the annual fest enters its seventh year – at a time when the concert industry has been rocked by declining revenues, cancelled tours and widespread hand-wringing – ticket sales have already exceeded expectations with more than 20,000 tickets pre-sold in each of the major markets Rock the Bells will reach (including San Bernadino’s NOS Event Center, where the tour kicks off on Aug. 21).

But Weisberg, founder and head honcho of the Pomona-based concert promotions and marketing firm Guerilla Union, hasn’t been able to ignore the broadsides from fans outraged by his decision to significantly downsize the tour for 2010.

“We have a lot of fans upset at Rock the Bells this year,” the promoter acknowledged. “Last year we were in eight markets and this year, we’re in four.”

Previous years have seen the festival book as many as three times more dates and travel to smaller cities including Honolulu, Minneapolis, Myrtle Beach, SC and Columbia, MD.  In addition to the NOS Event Center engagement, Rock the Bells 2010 will reach San Francisco’s Shoreline Amphitheater, Governor’s Island in New York and Washington, DC’s Merriweather Post Pavillion.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
The festival reliably showcases many of the genre’s most beloved acts alongside a Who’s Who of hip-hop up-and-comers. But in another shift from established policy, this year’s Rock the Bells will feature several rap luminaries performing their classic albums in their entirety: Long Beach gangsta doyen Snoop Dogg running through his 1993 debut “Doggystyle,” A Tribe Called Quest doing its classic LP “Midnight Marauders,” the many tentacled Staten Island collective Wu-Tang Clan reuniting to perform “Enter the 36 Chambers,” (with fallen member Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s eldest son, Boy Jones, subbing for his father) and influential British-America rhyme-spitter Slick Rick performing “The Great Adventures of Slick Rick.” Then there’s what amounts to a three-date mini-comeback by reclusive rap-R&B diva Lauryn Hill – but more on that later.

To chatroom commenters across a grumpy hip-hop nation, the sense of loss remains acute.

“They did a horrible job organizing this event this year,” wrote a commenter on okayplayer.com. “They screwed a lot of cities over.”

“Only four cities? maybe this is a trial run to see if hiphop is dead,” reads a post on deephousepage.com.

To hear it from Weisberg — who launched Rock the Bells in Southern California by refinancing his house in 2004 and morphed it into a touring fest in 2007 — the decision to scale down this year has not been entered into lightly. The choice comes after conducting years of field research and trying to grow the festival on the road. Not, as some haters have grumbled, because of lax organization or Rock the Bells caving in to the soft economy.

“It’s not physically possible to recreate the show we do 12 times across North America. And we tried,” Weisberg said. “I don’t know that the audience is there in Boston, Chicago, Miami, Denver or Toronto. The markets are not capable of sustaining a hip-hop show of this magintude.”

As the concert promoter explains it, by limiting Rock the Bells to just four markets, each date on the tour becomes a destination event a la the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival or Lollapalooza, the type of blockbuster, multi-day summer music festivals Weisberg hopes to one day build Rock the Bells into.

“The LA show gets people from all 50 states,” he said. “In New York, ridiculous amounts of people come from Europe. In DC, you get the southern states pluse the midwest. You can’t get 20,000 hip-hop lovers to an event without some out of market support.”

In addition to such emerging rap talents on the line-up as Yelawolf, Wiz Khalifa and Jedi Mind Tricks, sure to be a big factor in that kind of market support this year will be “special guest” Lauryn Hill.

As hip-hop heads have never forgotten, L-Boogie (as she was known as a lead singer of the Fugees) became a solo phenom with the multi-platinum-selling release of her 1998 album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” – a nimble rapper and soulful R&B chanteuse with a multiple-octave register whose musical talents were only matched by her beauty. But at the apex of her success – after selling some 8 million albums and collecting five Grammys — Hill seemed to grow disenchanted with music. And her behavior grew increasingly erratic. She began demanding that people address her as “Empress,” quoting scripture at public events like the Grammys and even declared herself “crazy and deranged” in a between-song rant on her 2001 CD “MTV Unplugged No. 2.0.”

For the last decade, the rapper-singer shied away from the public eye to raise her five children, although fan ardor never diminished. In that light, Rock the Bells can be seen as an attempt to return to form, a sustained commitment by Hill to reestablish her pop stardom.

According to Benjamin Meadows-Ingram, senior editor of XXL magazine, the festival has done well by catering to an under-serviced market: a constituency of “longtime hip-hop heads” overlooked by most other traveling hip-hop shows.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
“There’s real excitement about this year’s line-up. About this packaging of artists doing full albums,” Meadows-Ingram said. “What Rock the Bells promises, it’s consistently delivered. It seems to be a very well conceived and executed appreciation of what a lot of people consider to be ‘real’ hip-hop.”

At a press conference for the fest in May, an MC on this year’s bill, Supernatural, couched its appeal in a different way.

“Every year at Rock the Bells, you can expect one thing and that’s high level, high quality music. That’s never a question,” Supernatural said. “If any of have ever read comic books, Rock the Bells is like ‘Marvel Universe.’ It’s the greatest collection of super heroes ever brought under one roof.”

– Chris Lee Thanks LA TIMES

Photo: Lauryn Hill in 2005. Credit: Associated Press

YouTube – rock the bells festival 2010.

KRS-One on Criminal Minded

Rock The Bells | MySpace Music Videos

CLICK - My Playlist by Rock The Bells on MySpace Music – listen to songs & purchase MP3s.

By dienhart at 2010-06-10

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

ROCK THE BELLS 2010 FESTIVAL SERIES ANNOUNCES ADDITIONS TO THE ALL-STAR LINE UP: SNOOP DOGG PERFORMING DEBUT ALBUM ‘DOGGYSTYLE’ A TRIBE CALLED QUEST PERFORMING ‘MIDNIGHT MARAUDERS’ PLUS DJ PREMIER PERFORMS TRIBUTE TO GANG STARR AND VERY SPECIAL GUEST: MS. LAURYN HILL

JUNE 8, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FR: GUERILLA UNION

ROCK THE BELLS 2010 FESTIVAL SERIES ANNOUNCES
ADDITIONS TO THE ALL-STAR LINE UP:

SNOOP DOGG PERFORMING DEBUT ALBUM ‘DOGGYSTYLE’
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST PERFORMING ‘MIDNIGHT MARAUDERS’
PLUS DJ PREMIER PERFORMS TRIBUTE TO GANG STARR
AND VERY SPECIAL GUEST: MS. LAURYN HILL

TICKETS ON-SALE BEGINNING JUNE 12 AT TICKETFLY.COM

MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!

Guerilla Union, the promoter for the ROCK THE BELLS 2010 FESTIVAL SERIES, has unveiled the latest artist additions to the previously announced stellar line-up of performers featuring headliners Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim, KRS-One, Slick Rick and more.

Making his first ever appearance on the ROCK THE BELLS stage, Snoop Dogg will co-headline in San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C. performing for the first time his debut album, Doggystyle, in its entirety. The 1993 Death Row Records release went quadruple platinum and has since made influential albums lists including Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of Essential Recordings of the 90’s and The Source’s 100 Best Rap Albums. This historic set will feature guest performances by Warren G,Tha Dogg Pound, Lady of Rage and RBX. Alternative hip hop luminaries, A Tribe Called Quest, are slated to perform their coveted third album, Midnight Marauders, from beginning to end. The 1993 release was the highly anticipated, up-tempo follow up to The Low End Theory achieving critical and commercial success. Legendary producer, DJ and co-founder of revolutionary hip hop group, Gang Starr, DJ Premier will make a special appearance to celebrate the life and work of fellow Gang Starr collaborator, MC Guru. This special tribute comes in the wake of Guru’s untimely passing to cancer on April 19, 2010. The innovative duo is largely credited for pioneering the hip hop sound of the 90’s mixing jazz, funk and soul. As a very special guest, Grammy Award-winning recording artist, musician and actress, Lauryn Hill will take the stage in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. A unique set will be prepared exclusively for ROCK THE BELLS featuring songs from her critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, spanning through her work with The Fugees and more. In 1998, Lauryn Hill set record-breaking sales with the release of Miseducation. Going on to set a new record the following year, Ms. Hill became the first woman to win five Grammys in one night. Tickets for all markets will be available at www.TicketFly.com. An exclusive pre-sale for Guerilla Union newsletter subscribers will begin this Friday, June 11.Tickets for Los Angeles and New York will go on sale to the general public June 12. Tickets for San Francisco and Washington, D.C. will go on sale the following week on June 19. Please check www.rockthebells.net for exact line-up and ticketing information for each city.

“This is one of those rare shows that lives up to the promise,” states Chang Weisberg of Guerilla Union. “It’s such a massive blessing to have all of these amazing performers embrace the opportunity to celebrate and unite everyone that loves Hip Hop. I woke up this morning and asked my son to pinch me because I could not believe it myself. This kind of show happens only once in a lifetime. It’s a serious piece of live music history. All these records in one day? Some of the greatest records ever. I can’t wait to see it!”

“Festivals the size and caliber of this year’s ROCK THE BELLS are rare and difficult to assemble,” adds Weisberg about the decision to visit four cities this year. “We know that there are a lot of fans from other markets disappointed that ROCK THE BELLS isn’t stopping in their city this year. Hopefully, those fans can travel to one of the four destination cities or support one of our more intimate shows that we’re planning for the fall.” Guerilla Union encourages fans to stay tuned as there will be more announcements in the coming weeks.

www.rockthebells.net
www.myspace.com/rockthebells
www.facebook.com/rockthebellsfestival
www.twitter.com/rockthebells

THE ONLY TOURING WORLD-CLASS HIP-HOP FESTIVAL WILL VISIT FOUR MAJOR NORTH AMERICAN CITIES THIS SUMMER

HIP-HOP’S MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS, INCLUDING: WU-TANG CLAN, RAKIM, KRS-ONE, SLICK RICK AND MORE, WILL BE PERFORMING THEIR GROUNDBREAKING ALBUMS IN THEIR ENTIRETY WITH ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES BY STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB, MURS AND 9TH WONDER, WIZ KHALIFA, CLIPSE AND MANY MORE!

ROCK THE BELLS TO SUPPORT HAITI RELIEF EFFORTS BY CONTRIBUTING PORTION OF TICKET PROCEEDS TO HIP HOP AND HOPE FOR HAITI

Rock The Bells 2010 Supernatural Freestyle

Rock The Bells | MySpace Music Videos

Guerilla Union, the live events company behind world-class platforms such as Cypress Hill SmokeOut Festival and Paid Dues Independent Hip Hop Festival, has announced the return of the 7th annual ROCK THE BELLS 2010 FESTIVAL SERIES. This year’s ROCK THE BELLS will feature performances from headliners Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim, KRS-One, Slick Rick, plus an array of seminal hip-hop artists.

The ROCK THE BELLS trek will stop at four major North American markets this summer, kicking off on August 21 at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, CA. The tour will continue on to Shoreline Amphitheater in San Francisco on August 22, Governer’s Island in New York on August 28, and will wrap up at Merriweather Pavilion in Washington D.C. on August 29. Visit www.rockthebells.net for ticketing information and the exact lineup per city. Fans are also advised to sign up for the Guerilla Union newsletter for important announcements, pre-sale details and up-to-date information regarding the tour.

For the first time in the history of hip-hop entertainment, ROCK THE BELLS is slated to have headliners perform their most influential albums in their entirety. East-coast legends Wu-Tang Clan will perform Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers from beginning to end. Released in 1993, the group’s debut album revived the New York rap scene and is widely-regarded as one of the greatest albums in hip-hop history. Considered one of the greatest MC’s of all time, Rakim is set to perform 1987′s, Paid In Full, his first full-length album with Eric B. Fellow Golden age, east coast rapper, Slick Rick will conquer The Great Adventures of Slick Rick. Released in 1989, this debut album became a certified-platinum classic topping the Billboard’s Top R&B/ Hip Hop Albums charts. Highly regarded as the “THE TEACHER”, KRS-One is a hip hop culture advocate, music producer, MC and published author. Hailed as one of the best live performers, KRS-One will perform Criminal Minded. The 1987 trend-setting album sampled music from various genres including rock, reggae and funk.

Anticipated performance highlights of this year’s festival series include Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. He will take the stage with his own critically acclaimed musical project. Morello and Boots Riley, front-man emcee of The Coup, comprise the Street Sweeper Social Club. The complete list of participating artists for the tour follows below.

Aside from musical performances, Freestyle Session will be bringing out BBoys and BGirls to showcase their talents. The top international breakdancing platform will be incorporated into ROCK THE BELLS to bring a world-class lifestyle atmosphere and to support all forms of hip-hop arts. ROCK THE BELLS has also teamed up with non-profit organization Hip Hop and Hope for Haiti. Although the bright lights of mainstream media attention have dimmed as it relates to the disaster relief efforts in Haiti, Rock the Bells and Hip Hop and Hope for Haiti are committed to long term fundraising efforts.

“This time of year is always filled with anxiety, excitement, and even relief,” states Rock the Bells founder Chang Weisberg. “Rock the Bells fans have the craziest expectations and the days and nights leading up to our initial announcement are surreal. Ultimately, our goal is to always present something that is historic. This year’s show is the epitome of that tradition. Some things new and fresh, some things classic and legendary, and something that you’ve never seen or may never see and hear again. That’s the formula. I am excited for this year’s festivals and hope everyone is as hyped up as I am. As always, we will announce a few surprises and keep our fans on their toes all the way up to the day of the show.”

Venues, dates, and the complete lineup for the ROCK THE BELLS tour were announced at the Official Rock the Bells 2010 Launch Party on May 24 at the Key Club in Hollywood, CA. For the 3rd year in a row, freestyle champion MC Supernatural freestyled the lineup to a room full of eager press. Monster Energy Drink joined the efforts as the official energy drink sponsor of the ROCK THE BELLS 2010 LAUNCH PARTY.

Artists confirmed for the ROCK THE BELLS 2010 FESTIVAL SERIES include:

Wu-Tang Clan
Rakim
KRS-One
Slick Rick
Street Sweeper Social Club
Murs and 9th Wonder
Wiz Khalifa
Clipse
Immortal Technique
Jedi Mind Tricks
Brother Ali
DJ Muggs and Ill Bill
Big Sean
Yelawolf

Hosted by
Supernatural
DJ Rocky Rock

About Rock the Bells:
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, NAS, A Tribe Called Quest, 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. Rock the Bells has also set the stage for monumental surprise performances by Jay-Z, Slick Rick, BEP and Black Sheep. In 2008, Rock the Bells toured internationally for the first time in Prague, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Helsinki, Paris and London.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Uploaded with ImageShack.us