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Rock the Bells chimes in with 13 cities
This year's Rock the Bells hip-hop festival series--which features headliners Wu-Tang Clan and Nas , as well a Rage Against the Machine on several dates--has expanded ahead of its late July launch.
The trek, which now kicks off July 26 in Mansfield, MA, will hit 13 US cities from coast to coast and wrap Aug. 30 in Toronto. Rage Against the Machine will appear at the July 28-29 gigs in New York City as well as August shows in San Francisco and Devore, CA. Public Enemy , which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, will also make a special guest appearance at select shows. The itinerary listed below.
"We want to build an annual event in all of these cities to serve their musical communities and prove that quality hip-hop is NOT dead," festival organizer Chang Weisberg said in a statement. "Actually, over 130,000 people have already disproved the notion and bought their tickets."
A slew of acts will travel with the five-week, hip-hop extravaganza, including Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, David Banner, Immortal Technique and Jedi Mind Tricks. Cypress Hill and UGK will be among the artists to appear on select dates during the trek, which will be hosted by Supernatural and Rahzel "The Godfather of Noyze." The full lineup can be found at the Rock the Bells website.
Many of the artists, including Kweli, Monch and Banner, have new albums ready to surface just in time for the tour. Wu-Tang Clan will release its first set in six years, "8 Diagrams," in August.
One programming note: the previously announced Aug. 11 date in Southern California has been moved from the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino to the Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen in nearby Devore, CA. Tickets already purchased will be honored at the new venue.
The Devore show will introduce a new "verses" area and the Guerilla Union Summit, which will host open forums, guest speakers and live art installations along with some surprises, according to a press release.
