Linkin Park, Wale, Asher Roth Take to the Street for 2013 Sunset Strip Music Festival

Asher Roth

Long-haired rapper Asher Roth performed an afternoon set at Sunset Strip Music Festival during which he exalted the loves of his life: weed and partying. Fans grooved along and went wild for his famed song, "I Love College," off his 2009 debut album Asleep in the Bread Aisle. 

Finch

Temecula, Calif.-based hardcore band Finch recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of their breakout debut album, What It Is to Burn. 

Crowd

Some 15,000 music fans turned out for this year's Sunset Strip Music Festival hosted on LA's historic boulevard. In the 1930s and 1940s, the strip was the playground of the uber rich, but became a musical haven in the 1960s when famous venues such as the Whiskey A Go Go, the Roxy and Pandora's Box was the backdrop to bands like Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Quiet Riot, and Guns 'n' Roses.

Early Times Whiskey Promotional Performers

The street festival portion of SSMF features performance artists of every shape and size. Among them: this troupe of fire eaters and stilt walkers.

Saturday on Sunset

The three-day music marathon climaxes with Saturday performances on Sunset Boulevard. Among the highlights: Linkin Park, Wale, Awolnation, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Logic.

Doug E. Fresh

Rapper Doug E. Fresh gave the SSMF crowd a lesson in "Hip-Hop 101." Partnered with DJ Kaos, the two threw down one of the most energetic sets of the festival. Decked out in gold chains and bracelets, his set list covered classic old school jams like "Bedtime Story" and "Let Me Clear My Throat," and even went south for a singalong of "Sweet Home Alabama."

Guitar Art

An artist takes paint to an oversized guitar, one of several art pieces that highlight the Strip throughout the year. 

AWOL Nation

With front man Aaron Bruno channeling late Kurt Cobain, AWOLNATION led a nearly flawless performance that opened with "Guilty Filthy Soul" and also included fan favorites like "Kill Your Heroes," "Soul Wars" and their hit "Sail."

Wale

Rapper Wale pulled out all the stops for his SSMF 2013 set, bringing along friends Chris Brown and rapper YG for cameos.

Linkin Park

Linkin Park headlined SSMF 2013 with an explosive extended set list that contained hits old and new. Standouts included "Papercuts," "With You" and "In the End"   from their 2000 debut album Hybrid Theory, along with "Bleed It Out," "Numb" and "What I've Done." The band closed out their set with "One Step Closer to You." 

Linkin Park

Chester Bennington, lead singer of Linkin Park (who's also filling in for Stone Temple Pilots), said early on in his band's set, "Back when we were writing Hybrid Theory, we had this crazy dream like, 'Wouldn't it be f---ing cool if they shut down Sunset and we played?'" 

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club released its seventh album, Specter at the Feast, in March 2013. It includes a cover of The Call's 1989 hit "Let The Day Begin."

SSMF: Five Years Strong

The Sunset Strip Music Festival made its debut in 2008 with the aim of celebrating the historic boulevard. Each year, the festival has honored an artist with a connection to the L.A. music scene. This year, Joan Jett was feted, both as lead singer of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and co-founder of The Runaways.