Taco Bell announced the 100 bands that made its 2009 “Feed the Beat” lineup. Celebrating its fourth year, “Feed the Beat” provides free food and marketing support to America’s up-and-coming rock acts. This year, touring bands from across the nation, including The All-American Rejects, Boys Like Girls, Forever The Sickest Kids, We The Kings, Atreyu, Owl City, Dr. Dog, and more will receive $500 in Taco Bell Bucks for free “Fourthmeal,” the chain’s late night meal between dinner and breakfast. More than just free food, bands also receive important marketing support for their music.

Music fans will be able to discover each “Feed the Beat” band on Taco Bell’s Virtual Music Festival Web site, which showcases their music and exclusive content created for the site. Once there, fans can listen to bands they know or discover new tunes as they stream music via the Feed the Beat Music Player. If they discover a band they like and want to purchase music, they are directed to the band’s Web site where they can purchase the song.

“Feed the Beat began as a simple way to show how much we love and support independent music, but it’s grown to become a benchmark for how Taco Bell supports bands and artists,” says David Ovens, chief marketing officer for Taco Bell Corp. “Our Feed the Beat bands have been showcased via our partnerships with MTV and ESPN, as we work hard to highlight their talent and music. Whether helping to extend the spotlight on their nominations for Video Music Awards, getting them to play at the VMAs, or creating live concerts and soundtrack opportunities during the X Games, the work never stops in support of our bands. We want to help our 2009 lineup to realize at least the same type of success and hopefully more.”