Bree!

This morning Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda, The Bravery’s Sam Endicott and (now solo) musician Chris Cornell all got on the phone with various press outlets to talk about this year’s Projekt Revolution plans.

Most notable about this year's lineup is the absence of any hip-hop or rap acts — Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, and Ghostface Killah were past Projekt Rev performers. Shinoda affirmed that while Projekt Rev boasts an all-rock bill this year, it wasn't done intentionally. 

"I enjoy hip-hop groups or hip-hop-leaning groups that really push the envelope," Shinoda said. "Groups like Lupe Fiasco, Gnarls Barkley or Kanye [West], but they’re out on the road doing their own thing." However, Projekt Revolution's U.K. stop, set for June 29, will feature Jay-Z and N.E.R.D.

Shinoda, Endicott and Cornell all stressed the importance of diversity in this festival, explaining that this tour fills a niche — similar to what the Vans Warped Tour ("a screamo emo punk thing" as Shinoda called it) and Ozzfest have done for their respective genres.

Atreyu, 10 Years, Hawthorne Heights, Armor for Sleep, and Street Drum Corps will be playing the smaller Revolution stage this year, but Shinoda says being on a smaller stage doesn’t necessarily mean drawing a smaller crowd.

"Last year we had Madina Lake open the show and I’ve never seen so many people so early — the Revolution Stage area was PACKED as soon as the doors were open. The good news is that the fans love the lineup and want to come out early – and I'm pretty sure that will happen this year again with Armor for Sleep opening up – at the same time it makes it trickier for the bands who play later because now all the fans have been there since 11 a.m. and they’re tired and we have to work extra hard to get them into the set and keep them excited — which we are happy to do."

Endicott also mentioned playing alongside Hawthorne Heights at this past weekend’s Bamboozle Left festival, saying the band had some of the "best guitar rock moves I’ve seen in a long time."

Projekt Revolution kicks off July 16 in Boston.

Tour dates:
7.16   Boston, MA @ Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
7.18   Pittsburgh, PA @ Post-Gazette Pavilion
7.19   Philadelphia, PA @ Susquehana Bank Center
7.20   Hartford, CT @ New England Dodge Music Center
7.22   New York, NY @ Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
7.23   Holmdel, NJ  @ PNC Bank Arts Center
7.25   Raleigh, NC @ Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek
7.26   Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater
7.27   Washington, DC @ Nissan Pavilion
7.30   Charlotte, NC  @ Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
8.1     West Palm Beach, FL @ Cruzan Amphitheatre
8.2     Tampa, FL @ Ford Amphitheatre
8.3     Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheatre
8.7     Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Wireless Pavilion
8.9     San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View
8.10    Irvine, CA @  Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
8.12    Denver, CO @  Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
8.15    Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
8.16    Chicago, IL @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
8.17    Indianaplis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center Indianapolis
8.19    Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center
8.21    St. Louis, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater St. Louis
8.23    Dallas, TX @ Superpages.com Center
8.24    Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion