Rock the Bells Festival Returns to Newark Thanksgiving Weekend with LL Cool J, SWV, Lil' Kim and Method Man & Redman
The Rock the Bells Festival will return to the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Nov. 29 — Thanksgiving weekend — with LL Cool J, SWV, Lil' Kim, and Method Man & Redman headlining the bill, Billboard reports.
The Thanksgiving edition is themed "Home for the Holidays" and is timed to close out Hip-Hop History Month. It is produced by Rock the Bells — the brand founded by LL Cool J, which also runs a SiriusXM station, Rock the Bells Radio on channel 43 — and the Black Promoters Collective, a coalition of independent promoters focused on touring Black artists.
Beyond the headliners, the festival will present a D-Nice-curated set featuring LeToya Luckett, David Banner and The LOX, the New York rap trio of Jadakiss, Styles P and Sheek Louch. Additional artists and what organisers are calling "special surprises" will be announced later, according to Billboard.
An exclusive presale begins Aug. 18 at 10 a.m. ET and runs through Aug. 20 at 10 a.m. ET. No general on-sale date has been confirmed in the announcement.
The Rock the Bells name carries its own history. LL Cool J — who originally coined the phrase for his 1985 single — took back ownership of the brand after a separate, unaffiliated festival operated under the Rock the Bells name from 2004 to 2013, the Express reported in 2022. Since reclaiming it, he has built it into a platform spanning live events, the SiriusXM channel and digital media, all centred on celebrating hip-hop's legacy and its founding artists.
Rock the Bells Radio has previously leaned into the Thanksgiving window with programming: last year the station aired "The Thanksgiving Mixdown" from Nov. 25–28, featuring exclusive mixes from DJs including Chris Villa, DJ Scene, Djnophrillz and DJ Sophia, according to the festival's Facebook page.
For fans, the Nov. 29 date means a hip-hop bill landing squarely in the long Thanksgiving weekend — a slot more commonly associated with holiday parades and football. The "Home for the Holidays" framing leans into that timing, slotting a full festival lineup into what is, for many, the busiest family weekend of the year.
