Rock the Bells 2009 ft Nas & Damian Marley & more!

Rock The Bells 2009 Festival Series – North America’s only hip-hop festival featuring some of hip-hop’s biggest names including Nas & Damian Marley, The Roots, Busta Rhymes and Big Boi, plus many more major hip-hop artists – returns to DTE Energy Music Theatre on Sunday, June 28 at 1 p.m.

Tickets at $66 and $46 pavilion and $32.50 lawn go on sale this Saturday, May 2 at 10 a.m. at Palacenet.com, The Palace Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations. Special Superfan seating and special lawn ticket four-packs at $99 are also available.

Tickets may also be charged by phone to American Express, Discover, Visa and MasterCard by calling1-800-745-3000.

Rock The Bells will feature 25 acts on two stages, a vendor village, surprise performances and more.

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 as hosts for RTB, as well as serving as a performer.

“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. In fact, with the current state of global affairs, including the recent election of President Obama and the difficulties facing our economy, we found ourselves having to be conscious of all the social and/or economic issues our fans may be dealing with as well as the challenges facing many artists in an ever evolving music industry. The common DNA of all these perspectives is that there is faith that things are going to change. Change is the universal hope for all our fans and artists alike. With that said, who better to headline this year’s Rock The Bells than Nas and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley? Their highly anticipated album Distant Relatives is a collaboration that’s destined to be the soundtrack of people’s hopes and aspirations this summer. Although this is a monumental combination for hip-hop, it is simply some of the most important music to be released period, regardless of genre.”

Another element besides top-notch musical performances fans can experience at Rock The Bells is the legendary KRS-One’s Temple of Hip-Hop. “Rock The Bells has always strived to be the world-class platform dedicated to hip-hop culture,” states Chang Weisberg of Guerilla Union. “This year we are excited to announce that KRS-One and the Temple of Hip Hop will be producing unique fan experiences dedicated to cultivating hip-hop culture by hosting guest speakers, workshops, art displays, lectures, book signings and more. Plans are still being finalized, but expect a unique Temple of Hip-Hop area to be built in each city. We are going to reach out to all artists on this year’s line-up to contribute their efforts to help educate and expand perspective on hip-hop culture.”

Artists confirmed for this summer’s Rock The Bells 2009 Festival Series include:
Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley
The Roots
Busta Rhymes
Big Boi (Outkast)
Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli + Hi Tek)
Slaughterhouse (Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Royce Da 5’9,” Crooked I)
Slum Village (T3, Baatin, Elzhi)
Tech N9ne
K’naan
The Knux
Charlie 2na (Jurassic 5)

Hosted by
KRS-One
Supernatural

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.

Rock The Bells 2009 Festival is presented by Budweiser and is part of the Belle Tire Concert Series.