Dates and festival sites haven’t been confirmed yet but the initial lineup for 2009’s Rock the Bells has been announced. Headlining this year is Nas & Damian “Jr Gong” Marley, The Roots, Common, and Big Boi. KRS-One, House of Pain featuring La Coka Nostra, Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek as Reflection Eternal, Tech N9ne, K’Naan, RZA, Raekwon, Sage Francis, M.O.P., Slaughterhouse, Eyedea & Abilities, Necro, Slum Village, Evidence & Alchemist, Chali 2na, Psycho Realm, Mystic Journeyman, Buckshot, Mickey Factz, B. Dolan, and Tabi Bonney are all on-board too. KRS-One, Super Natural, Murs, and Pete Rock host and more are expected to be added soon.

This year it looks like they did a better job at adding more reputable music with a lot of true underground and backpack certified artists. While last year did feature a rare reunion from Tribe, it also got a little too heavy on electro flavor of the month rap. 2009 brings it back to a much more credible lineup with 90’s golden era rappers. It does lack a bit of this year’s hype with really no one from the XXL’s freshman class. Bringing a Wale/Charles Hamilton/Blu would be a nice addition to the bill.