Previewing Rock the Bells Festival

Home icon Home»Local Concerts»Previewing Rock the Bells Festival

Written by Zachary Fenell

Tuesday, 16 August 2011 01:23

When you go to a Guerilla Union show you don’t just attend a concert, you experience history, and Rock the Bells 2011 will continue this trend. In the past eight years many legendary performances helped establish Rock the Bells as the premier hip hop festival. As a result every year the Rock the Bells hype grows. This year the anticipation comes to a head starting Saturday, August 20th at Los Angeles’s San Manuel Amphitheatre. Rock the Bells 2011 features headliners Ms. Lauryn Hill, Nas, and Erykah Badu in addition to over 30 other artists. To pay tribute to the hip hop genre the artists will perform impactful hip hop albums.

2011 marks the second straight year Rock the Bells showcases album set lists. Guerilla Union head Chang Weisberg explains the idea behind performing album set lists “Every year we ask ourselves what we can do to distinguish ourselves as a once in a lifetime show.” Weisberg mentioned at first Rock the Bells reunited groups such as Wu-Tang Clan and Rage Against the Machine. Wu-Tang Clan reunited after 10 years to play the inaugural Rock the Bells. In 2007 the event featured the Rage Against the Machine reunion. Weisberg sees the album set lists just as special as the reunions commenting “You see the album set lists performed at rock concerts but not so much hip hop ones.”

An exciting eagerness quickly grabs your attention when looking at the 2011 Rock the Bells lineup. The scheduled sets for headliners Ms. Lauryn Hill and Nas especially beam with newsworthiness. At Rock the Bells, Hill will perform her award winning The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill for the first time ever. Nas for the first time ever will perform Illmatic, the album which laid the foundation for his illustrious career. About the performance, Nas stated in a press release “For years people have been asking me to do Illmatic in so many ways, from stage plays to movies to books, but the time wasn't right. Where music is going now, the time is right. This will be my biggest production and it only makes sense to do it on the best rap tour.”

When asked about the album set lists Weisberg said “We see the format as an ode to classic hip hop but also an ode to the album format.” Weisberg discusses how in today’s music world the ability to download and purchase singles distracts from the efforts artists put into making albums. For instance, you might go out and buy Cypress Hill’s hit single “Insane in the Membrane” rather than purchasing the album Black Sunday. Cypress Hill who will perform Black Sunday Saturday, August 20th at Rock the Bells gets to challenge music fans to listen to Black Sunday in its entirety and enlighten them with the not so well known tracks.

For each group the process in deciding which album to play proves different. For the sets by Ms. Lauryn Hill and Nas, the decision to perform their respective albums stems from the fact the artists never performed those albums in concert before. Meanwhile Cypress Hill played Black Sunday three years ago at the SmokeOut Festival, another Guerilla Union event. The performance received such a warm reception Cypress Hill and Guerrilla Union decided to perform the album again at this year’s Rock the Bells. Weisberg recalls initially talking to Cypress Hill about performing Black Sunday in concert as far back as a decade ago.

Several elements incorporated into Rock the Bells evolved from other Guerilla Union ventures. Rock the Bells 2011 features four stages, including the Paid Dues Stage and Grindtime Now Stage. The Paid Dues Stage welcomes back upcoming artists who played at Guerilla Union’s Paid Dues Festival four months ago in April. The Grindtime Now Stage, a stage featuring freestyle battles, also ties back to the Paid Dues Festival. At the Paid Dues Festival Guerilla Union presented these battles inside a MMA Octagon. A positive response leads to the Grindtime Now Stage returning at Rock the Bells.

Another new addition to Rock the Bells for 2011 includes the 36 Chambers Stage, curated by Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA. Rock the Bells and Wu-Tang Clan share a rich history together dating back to the first ever Rock the Bells where Wu-Tang Clan reunited. Weisberg recalls the reunion performance as a defining moment “We knew we had something special when Dirty came out onstage. No one expected Dirty to be there and the reaction was great.” The performance set the foundation for Wu-Tang Clan becoming regulars for Rock the Bells. “We asked our fans who they want to see, and the response was Wu-Tang Clan” Weisberg explains. Allowing RZA to curate the 36 Chambers Stage only elevates the relationship between Guerrilla Union and Wu-Tang Clan. Weisberg notes the 36 Chambers Stage will eventually turn into its own festival.

Beyond the loaded lineup attending Rock the Bells in Los Angeles enables you to experience a vibe words fail to justifiably capture. Rock the Bells started in Los Angeles so the audiences always maintain high expectations. “People travel from all over, from all 50 states to Japan, London, and Australia. Many choose to come to the Los Angeles show because they know that’s where we started” Weisberg tells. In regards to ticket prices Weisberg states “We realize tickets aren’t cheap so we appreciate the people who spend their money on tickets. We aim to give you 10 times the value for each dollar you spend.” Basically at the day’s end Weisberg wants fans leaving thinking “Wow! Will I ever experience something like this again?” If you can’t make Rock the Bells Saturday, August 20th at Los Angeles’s San Manuel Amphitheatre, you can catch the event Saturday, August 27th in San Francisco, CA, Saturday, September 3rd in New York, NY, or Saturday, September 10th in Boston, MA.

To keep you busy, check out the gallery from Rock The Bells 2010!