Right after the 1982 opening of The Roxy, The Kitchen Tour in 1982 with Rock Steady Crew, Fab 5 Freddy, Crazy Legs, and DJ Spy became the first U.S. Hip-Hop tour. The billed acts on The Kitchen Tour went to Washington, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, New York, Iowa, Chicago, Michigan, and Toronto, Canada.
Read: The New York City Rap Tour was the first international hip-hop tour
Two years after the Kitchen Tour, the 1984 Swatch Watch New York City Fresh Festival Tour happened and brought hip-hop to arenas and coliseums nationwide. The festival tour was headlined by Run-D.M.C. and hosted by Kurtis Blow. The tour billed the Fat Boys, Whodini, Newcleus, the Dynamic Breakers, Magnificent Force, Uptown Express, and more. After it’s 27 dates, the tour grossed $3.5 million, five percent of the tours earnings went to the United Negro College Fund. The success of the first Fresh fest tour made it an annual event.
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