Rock the Bells

The overall concert was fantastic. This years artists were excellent. I really enjoyed: Too Short and E 40. Kendrick Lamar. Dougie Fresh. Common. Bone thugs.And many more. The weather was fantastic this year. The drugs and smoke was horrible --especially with young kids. The schedule was not optimal at all. Many of the best and most popular acts were scheduled at the same time which was frustrating. Also some of the best artists should have been on the main stage NOT the smaller stages. The overall schedule was horribly put together. Also the 2 smaller stages were crowded and hard to see the artist.

Awesome concert !! Had so much fun. I'm definally going again the area was real nice, parking was not bad at all!

Don't get me wrong - the line up for Rock the Bells was great. Between Wu-Tang Clan and Bone Thugs and Harmony - this was one of the best line ups in years. My main complaint is mainly about the VIP upgrade, which was nothing more than a roped off area in the center of the festival. Compared to other VIP experiences at other festivals (Outside Lands, Treasure Island), the treatment and amenities were sub par. I paid for an upgrade and did not get to use the all the 'VIP' areas, which included special bars, rest areas, restrooms, and entrance - labeled VIP. Even though the sell for VIP was that we would get 'access to Viewing Pit in front of each stage' and 'access to Lounge, Private Full Bar, DJ, and Restrooms' - we didn't get that at all. Instead it felt very strange that they have a VIP Upgrade, but if you want to be a real VIP, you have to be part of the select VIP Season Ticket Holders Club. Felt weird to have a VIP band that only got you into one spot - but not into the other areas labeled VIP. Definitely not worth the money and I wouldn't recommend the upgrade to anyone. The venue really got it wrong - if you upgrade, you shouldn't have selected access VIP - you should have select VIP access.

Over all the 2 days was Very Good, Fun, and Great Weather to top it all off. I even bought good seats in the front section. Great energy from both stages. On the other hand the sound quality was no the greatest on the main stage. Don't get me wrong, I like my music loud especially at a concert, but I think the decible level was to overwelming. It was hard to understand the artist's voice over the music. I would normally say to turn up the Mic to the Artists, but I think in this case you need to turn the music down especially for the people sitting in the front. I sat in the grass area with some friends when Slick Rick performed and the sound quality sounded great from back there. So keep the back speakers the same, and turn the front speakers down. If you were not familiar with the Artist it was hard to hear what they were saying. I heard the same thing from the people sitting around me. On the first day it seemed to me that all the established Artists, who were big to me was on the smaller stage. I felt the stage lineups should have been switched. I don't understand how DMX, Wu, and The LOX are on the small stage. The newer artists like Tyga, 2 Chains, Mac Miller, and J. Cole should have been on the 2nd Stage. I also thought the sets were to short. Maybe cut off the bottom 2 or 3 Acts and give more time to the others especially the headliners. The headliners should have a set of 2 yours, Cudi didn't even have time to perform Nite And Day, that's crazy to me. The other headliners like Bone Thugs, DMX, Wu-Tang, Common, & DJ Quick need closer to 1 1/2 hours. My top performances of the Festival were Bone Thugs, DMX, Yelawolf, & Nas. My biggest let down was Kid Cudi, I'm still a big fan of his but I was a little let down, he didn't even perform Day N Night and I wish in hindsight that I stayed at the 2nd stage to watch Red & Meth. I heard DMX came out and did his verse on 4,3,2,1. That would have been awsome to see. That's my opinion on the whole experience. I wrote a much criticism, but I did have a great time.

It was amazing!!! The lineup, the set schedule, the timing, everything. The vibes were good and there were not issues between the concert goers as far as i know. The few issues I personally had were: lack of trash cans within the amphitheatre. There was trash everywhere, and it wasnt really avoidable since you didnt see trash cans anywhere, esp the lawn. It did get cold in the evening, but I don't think that's something that was avoidable. The food and drinks were ridiculously expensive. Next year, will definitely be bringing everything rather than buying. But overall, it was an amazing experience and will definitely be making it an annual tradition!!

I could have listened to Kid Cudi the whole 2 days. Yeop, he was that amazing.

Had to get through acts that weren't very good to get to the good ones later in the evening. Got sunburned, but was all worth it to see J Cole, Cudi, and Technique! Met tech and took a picture. Had him sign a shirt. Overall, the festival was really good and I will be going back next year.

Overall, rock the bells is always an experience. The combination of new artist and old artists really takes it to another level. Kid Cudi was the headliner on the main stage. Overall, his performance was very lack-luster. No Encores, very ungreatful farewell to the crowd. Concert ended too abruptly. From the lawn, you cant see anything. The show was much better when the projected the stage onto the main screen and not some random graphics.

I a lot of fun going to rock the bells. It was my first year going have I hope I go next year. The olyn thing that bothered my was the bathrooms. They were never clean and smelled pretty bad

It was a great time. I saw everyone I wanted to see but there were a couple of disappointments. The biggest one being that people were allowed to stand in the aisle and also walk all the way up to the front, I paid for my seats, not a view of he back of someone head that decided to walk up to where Im sitting and stand there. It was so annoying. The only other thing that could have made my experience better is gettin to see ice cube. He was playin the same time as jcole so I had to make a tough decision. Other than those 2 things I had a great time.

This was my first time to the Rock the Bells and I loved it!!!

THE BEST hip hop concert experience in my life so far! nothing compares to this life changing event! I only wish the WHOLE line up would finish the tour all the way to the NorthWest. PLEASE HAVE ROCK THE BELLS AT THE GORGE AMPHITHEATER (in George, WA) EVERY YEAR!!!

I always enjoy attending Rock the Bells. The venue is always nice. I like the multiple stages and vendors as well. The lineup is always first class. I will be going next year.

Every year it gets netter and better. When you think it can't get any better it does. The last couple of years they are bring back acts to perform their signature albums. Onne of my all time favorite songs of all the is Nas and Lauryn Hill's "If I Ruled the World". I never thought I woul ever see a live performance if that and I did!! It was good to see up and coming artists as well. Slaughterhouse killed it. So did Childish Gambino. Thanks for the best true hip hop collaboration of artists on one bill an we'll see you again next year!!

good line up of artists but instruments drowned out vocals .....mics were not always working probably...

Alot of sound problems but what else can I say rtb is the biggest hip hop event of the summer

I'm gonna make it quick and easy for the event organizers can read this quick. THANK YOU for changing the venue back to Glen Helen. Please never throw another event at the NOS venue. That place is HORRIBLE. Please either cut a stage out next year or move them somewhere else. They were way too close to each other. I was watching Mac Miller and hearing Mobb Deep at the same time. No fun. The way you used to have only the Paid Dues stage was better. You could have cut those acts shorter and put them all on one stage. Mobb Deep should have been on the main stage. I mean C'MON!!! Please provide MORE shade for us. There were 200 people under that boost mobile shade tent. We shouldn't have to pay for VIP to get shade. That's just barbaric. Overall I think you should just cut a stage out. There were way too many acts going on this year and everyone had to miss someone they wanted to see.

I have attended other rock the bells before, but I must say that this was probably the worst. Not only did it not start on time because BlackStar was late, but they did not say when BlackStar would come out, thus, making us miss their act. The other stages were super far. Whereas in other years, there was at least one stage by the VIP lounge. And Ms. Lauryn Hill was not very good. I still love her music, but this new rock version of her music is not good. Plus, she worries too much about her band and not enough about her audience. If it wasnt for Nas and Common, this would have been a huge waste of money.

I am a huge fan of RTB. I have attended the last 5 (SF Bay area) I have to say some of the changes didn't quite stick. Let's talk about the likes.. I liked: * The show was on Saturday (love the Saturday over Sunday). It gives me a chance to recover on Sunday and be ready for work on Monday. Thank you for Saturday. Did I say I liked the Saturday??? * That selected artist perform their classic albums in it's entirety. Please keep this in the rotation Some of the dislikes/challenges: * Not a fan of the Three performance stages (Paid Dues/36 Chamber Stages competing & the main stage). That wasn't it. I appreciate the try, but it didn't go very well with a lot of folks nor me. I like the two-stage format and getting the headliners more visibility on the main stage (Raekwon/Ghostface, Mobb Deep, Black Moon, etc.) * Some of the artist selection was questionable: Lauren Hill, not a good performer and was worse than last year. This may not be the platform for her * We need more Westcoast flavor (Tha Alkaholiks, Xzibit, Ras Kass, Chino XL, Too Short) and more deep hip hop acts from the east (Pete Rock/CL Smooth, Special Ed, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Lords of the underground, Big Daddy Kane, Naughty By Nature, EPMD, Redman, etc.) All-in-all, decent show. Not as good as last year by good show none the less. I hope these and similar reviews are taken into consideration for next year's show. Keep on coming with it and I'll keep on supporting it. I love RTB. Looking forward to the 2012 show.

The atmosphere was very chill. I enjoyed walking around and listening to the different artists. I think the main stage was disappointing!! Lauren Hill came out 30 MINS LATE!! And you couldn't even understand what she was saying!! It was a waste!!! I went to the Wu Tang stage and had a better time. But they also put the Wu Tang and another stage way too close to each other. They were literally 20 feet away from each other.

The music was wonderful, however the sound was terrible. The sub woofers were so loud and muddy that you couldn't hear anything else. I love bass and loud music, but lots of people were having to close their ears because it was too loud and muddy sounding. I think the sound could improve 10-fold.

Every artist I saw was good, but Childish Gambino stole the entire concert for me, he was amazing. Ms. Hill did not meet my expectations. I must admit, i left halfway through her set. Besides that, Nas still killed it and Black Star did their thing. I rated a 4 because of the headliner.

Overall, I was unhappy with my experience. I paid $100 for Orchestra Pit tickets and in order to save my spot by the stage I had to stand there the whole time or risk getting pushed back by other rude people. This year's show was very unorganized. The show started late because all the performances on the main stage were pushed back. Mobb Deep and other big acts performed on the smaller stage, which doesn't make any sense. Due to the multiple stages you were missing out on performances because they were going on at the same time and getting back and forth between stages took forever. In between acts there was about an hour wait, which was a waste of time. This will be the last Rock the Bells I attend.

The best show to see was MOBB DEEP I hope they come back next year

The concert was amazing. Thought the lines and parking were pretty reasonable considering the crowds! Great seats but would have loved some shade!!!

Great to see/hear so much talent on stage! Love Common, Nas, Badu, Blackstar (wish they sang more songs!).... Was kinda disappointed in Lauryn Hill's performance though. It seemed more like a dress rehearsal than an actual performance. But still, you cant deny her talent and amazing voice! Tickets are getting pretty pricey! Might be the last rock the bells for me!

Concert was awesome but was disappointed with Black star that did not show. Was upset that I was told I was not able to bring in my SRL camera but saw many people without credentials badges walking around with their SRL cameras.

This year's Rock the Bells did not meet my expectations. It had great artist but previous years have been amazing I guess I was hopeing for it to be the same again.

the show was AWESOME except Black Star not showing up...otherwise everyone was great!

Had a blast at the concert. Was happy to find parking was free. Food and drink prices were outrageous. Performances were good. The lines at the entrance could have been planned out better it was basically just a huge mob bunched up together.

Show was good. Nas was amazing. Mobb Deep was amazing. Souls of Mischief were amazing. Where the heck was Black Star? That was one of the big reasons we went, and they didn't show.

the dirtiest venue EVER Lauren Hill should stop performing after this shameful concert, or see someone for help. Nas however ROCKS that was our last time at Rock the Bells

Although they cut BlackSTARR's performance (they were late) I was so pleased with that show. It was hot as hell and then it got really cold BUT i loved it. Enjoyed it with my sisters and that made it that much better. I definitely will be going back. 2 enthusiastic thumbs up. Fine holiday fun (Sorry i had to quote Clueless lol) G.

RTB isn't what is used to be anymore in the last 2-3 years. Instead of putting together a good, quality lineup, they have been adding A LOT of mainstream artists. On top of that, we used to be able to catch at least half of one artist before heading to the other stages to watch see another performer's show. Gone are those days because the play times are almost identical making it very difficult to catch glimpses of an act. RTB needs to get back to their original philosophy and stick to it. It's like they are being lured with more $$$ nowadays. The only reason I went to this show is I was expecting a lot for a 10 year anniversary. I was completely disappointed instead.

hands down the best event I ave ever been to in my entire life!!!

I had a great time. No lines were ever too bad. People were friendly and the sound was good. I don't really have any complaints besides beer could have been a bit cheaper. That shit is getting out of hand.

I never once in my life would've expected to see all the people I saw at Rock the Bells in my lifetime. My dreams had been made. Best experience of my life.

Fantastic concert! Much better organized than last year. They kept the artisit playing on time so you could plan which stage to watch. Great job by everyone involved!

Did not like the amphitheater setting for a hip hop show. The rows of seats kept people restricted. Also, sitting on the lawn we could see tons if empty rows of seats for some of the shows, which didn't seem fair. I absolutely loved the two sub stages. I love the setting. What a great time. And a great lineup!

This event was great except that the scheduling of top bill stars could have been better if staggered different times. All headliners seemed to be performing at the same time on different stages.

I go to a lot of shows but this lineup was perfect. It had every single rapper I love with almost no schedule conflicts. It wasn't overcrowded and it was totally worth the price of admission. I had the best time ever. The only complaint I have is that it literally took my friends and I an hour and a half to get out of the parking lot because of the # of cars there. We even left early to try to avoid this and it didn't help.

The General Admission seats are not worth the wait, you have to stand in a line threw an entire set if not longer to get in, I think assigned seats are better , that way everyone knows where to go, instead of fighting over random seats, I was in the loge and left to buy water, I asked the security if it was ok and I would be let back in and he said it was ok , but when I came back "it was full" , how do they know that, they don't, people are going in and out , plus I told him I had friends in there saving my seat, which I really did, I wasn't let back in and had to watch the rest of the show from the lawn by myself, i would rather pay for my seat than waste my time trying to get a random seat, General Admission seats are too chaotic. I've been San Manuel Amphitheater countless times and it's just easier to if you knew where to sit, no need for security to go on a power trip saying there's no room even tho you see people leaving or have a seat saved inside.

This was one of my favorite years at rtb.. besides the heat which was intolerable and maybe concessions being a little pricey, I love this venue !!!! So much better than NOS ...there are seats and grass to sit, and no bathroom lines... The acts were amazing and I even enjoyed and was surprised by some of the acts I didn't know.. and SUPERNATURAL IS AMAZING !!! all in all I had a great time !!

I have been to every Rock The Bells on the East Coast since Wu-Tang/Rage Against The Machine on Randalls Island. I live in Philadelphia and it's not an easy trip to New York for these shows, but after 3-4 hours of driving one way and sitting in traffic I always left RTB ecstatic and wanting more. But not this year in Holmdel. The set times were posted on the RTB website. Turns out that not only were the set times severely off, causing me to miss many of my favorite artists the first day, some of them weren't even performing on the posted stages. I checked throughout the day and there were NO changes made to the website. I woke up Sunday and finally the set times were updated (although not correctly). Same thing happened Sunday that I went through Saturday, to top it off they took down the second stage hours before the scheduled acts were supposed to perform. Complete waste of time and money, I'll give them one more chance if they return next year, but if these issues aren't corrected it will be my final RTB.

So my friend and I ve have been going to this concert for probably the past 4 yrs. We are both big ole skool hip hop heads and were really looking forward to seeing Ice Cube, DJ Quick, Salt N Peppa, Missy and Timberland (weren t in the Bay), etc. I am sure you get the point. This concert has always consisted of ole skool rappers and underground talent. We also paid a lot of $$ for prime seats, which we had. Unfortunately, it was not until the week of the concert we found out the lineup also included 2Chains, Tyga\u2026\u2026.and a bunch of other new booties, which I did not pay $240 bucks to see!!!! I mean if I knew the artists I wanted to see were going to be in the PARKING LOT I would not have paid my good money for a seat I could only use for a few hours, both days combined. Needless to say this was the last year we will be attending this function. We are obviously too old and will wait to see our ole skool artist at smaller venues.

Due to low ticket sales and weather, acts didn't show up and/or where canceled. Deltron 3030 and the orchestra was the best act but people either couldn't comprehend or were just blown away and had to sit down. Lauryn Hill's mini-set was a surprise during Nas set and Supernatural was able to keep the crowd going in between larger acts.

2 stages was ridiculous when up and coming acts are on the big stage and big acts are on the small stage. get the performance times to be correct. please sell tickets by seats.

I felt that Day 1 of the Rock the Bells was awesome!! The whole day was great artisits and kept you pumped. Day 2 was pretty good. The first part of the artisits for Day 2 was not so great. Didn't know many and didn't get you going. The second half of Day 2 was better. The drinks were very expensive. $14.00 for a beer and at a local storem they are $3.00. It was noce however to be allowed to bring in a ziplock bag of food.

My 2nd Rock the Bells..It was awesome, came with my brother who came on vacation from europe..We both love the concerts, Common, Nas, Ice Cube, Prodigy, Naughty by Nature.. the best. To bad it started raining 2 day, I was really hoping to see MOP. Well I saw more than and average joe. My brother was so happy to see such a line up, its really hard to see all these stars in europe in one time. Overall the concert was great. Thx Rock The Bells..see you next year.

The artists were good but I was disappointed with a couple artists that I wanted to see. I didnt see Salt-N-Peppa preform since they decided to do their show on saturday instead of sunday. 2Chainz decided to play the very last time slot on saturday and I was told he only did 3 songs. I wanted to see him as well. I would like to see this concert be better organized and artist play at the times specified. I wouldnt have paid 402.00 if this was going to happen. They should announce on a loud speaker when changes happen. Otherwise, it was a good concert. I will decide later if im going to buy 2013 Rock the Bells tix. Since its the 10 anniversary, the line up should be A LOT better.

The show was amazing from beginning to end! Even more fun cause it was a 2 day event! I would def recommend for any real hip-hop fans!

Absolutely amazing concert. I can't wait for 2013 Rock the Bells! I had the time of my life. Phenomenal music, great vibes and atmosphere, and nice people! Keep it up Shoreline and Guerilla Union :)

This was my second and favorite Rock The Bells experience! If you're patient and able wait for each band/group to set up...you'll enjoy yourself! We purchased general admission tix and each of the two days we had no issue finding the venue, parking, or even seats! The accoustics at the PNC Bank Arts venue were also great! A few of the acts didn't show which still left plenty to see! Most acts did show (including the headliners) and brought special guests...they were each awesome! I went with 6 friends (all 35-40'ish in age) and we all had an amazingly fun time! I will absolutely be there next year!!

I bought my husband tickets for his birthday and it was a great investment, 40 artists and 2 full days , a great lineup and wonderful performances! Very well organized concert, not like some others. Can't wait to go in the future!

the main acts were great! Nas, Eve, Common, J Cole, Deltran were awesome! Special Guests were great as well! Set times changed last minute, which we weren't told about, so we missed a few acts that we specifically went to see. They should have made announcements when they had nothing on stage in between acts. Instead by chance, we re-checked the website and sure enough, there were last minute cancellation and set changes.

I HAD A GREAT TIME AND HOPE YOU GUYS WILL DO THIS AGAIN NEXT. HOW EVER YOU SHOULD HAVE MORE OF NOTABLE ACTS ON THE MAIN STAGE EXAMPLE (ICE CUBE, DIPSET, M.O.P., & HIT SQUAD). ALSO, THE FOOD SELECTION LEAVES A LOT TO BE DESIRED. IF YOU WE ARE GOING TO PAY PREMIUM PRICES WE SHOULD GOOD A BETTER SELECTION AND QUALITY OF FOOD.

Amazing performances!!! Workers showed great attitude and service!

Please do not bring this event back to this venue. It doesn't have the proper bandwidth for this type of festival. This is an event that I anticipate every year, but after this year, I doubt that I will return. It was so much better last year on Governer's Island. It felt more like a festival/carnival. I also was highly disappointed with how several artists did not perform for various reasons. The festival had too may long gaps between performances, that several patrons started to slide down a hill in the mud for fun. Ick!

If you're a hip hop head... it was awesome. If your are a casual rap fan, you might enjoy it but you'll definitely be entertained. I felt too old to be there to be honest... and I'm 30.

Overall this event was awesome! The venue itself I feel needed work. All the new rules are pretty ridiculous and I hate that they wouldn't let E-40 and Too Short perform. I had lots of fun with my friends though and look forward to RTB every year!

I went to rock the bells and the concert was great!!! The 36 chambers stage on saturday was the best!! I really eanjoyed the WU BLOCK, DIPSET and SALT N' PEPA.....they were a suprise considering they were suppose perform sunday on the main stage. I was very disappointed about what happened with 2 Chainz. He was suppose to come on around 1:30 on the main stage. He didn't make it and the venue told folks he wasn't coming. I was not interested in seeing kid cudi so I opted to leave a little early. A friend texted me and said 2 Chaniz was on during Kid Cudi's set!! I ran to get back to the entrance and had to argue to get back in. By the time I had got back over to the main stage 2 Chainz was off. I was really upset! I was even more baffled by the fact 2 Chainz didn't come back on sunday to perform during Salt N' Pepa's original block on the main stage? Which was left open because they performed on Saturday on the 36 chambers stage! Bone Thugs N. Harmony was the best....I was excited to hear them perform their song Thug Love feat 2 Pac

I paid $200 for my ticket so I could sit. However the acts that I wanted to see were on the smaller stage where I had to stand for most of the day. When I use to go to this event I always had fun. This year it just wasn't the same.

The concert was definitely worth the money. Bone was amazing, and I don't think people realize how rare it is to see all 5 of them together. That was special. Nas also murdered it, along with J Cole and Kid Cudi.