It’s difficult to discuss Hollywood without thinking of movies, and it’s impossible to mention the Sunset Strip and ignore its long rock ‘n’ roll history, through venues like the Whiskey a Go Go and The Roxy.

Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee will play the drums on a circular roller coaster during the group’s performance at the Sunset Strip Music Festival. (photo courtesy of the CMO Group)

“The Roxy’s been around since 1973, the year I was born,” said Nic Adler, current operator of The Roxy, remembering the time when his father, Lou Adler, ran the show – or the venue behind the shows. “After school I’d get dropped off there. Then I became a promoter and managed bands. Ten years ago I took it over.”

Now, Adler is co-producing the Sunset Strip Music Festival (SSMF), set to kick off tonight and running through Saturday. Featuring more than 70 acts, the fourth annual event draws a local and drive/fly-in crowd from as far away as England and Australia.

“It’s the same format as other years, but we really upped the ante with acts,” said Andy Keown, director of communications for the West Hollywood Marketing and Visitors Bureau. “Mötley Crüe is the major act with Tommy Lee on a drum roller coaster. [The festival] is really gelling in a way that it hasn’t in the past.”

Mötley Crüe will share the stage with various acts like Public Enemy, Motion City Soundtrack, Matt & Kim, Cobra Starship and co-headliners Bush, which recently reunited. Each day, approximately 15 to 20 artists will play at The Roxy, the Whiskey and the Key Club, and each venue takes on a unique theme.

“The Key Club will feature house and dub music, and we’re [The Roxy] doing a special event with Semi Precious Weapon,” Adler said. “We do a club with them weekly called ‘Empire’. It feels like you walked down the wrong street in New York. It’s sexy. It’s hot. It’s sweaty. Very voyeuristic. It’s going to be different seeing Mötley on a drum roller coaster and then walking into New York glam.”

Coming to a climax on Saturday, a street fest will devour the Strip from Doheny Drive to San Vicente Boulevard, where Lee’s 360°-drum roller coaster comes out of retirement for the all-day event.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the Sunset Strip Music Festival,” Lee said. “It means a lot to us that we are recognized for our contribution to this historic place.”

Mötley Crüe got their start years ago on the Strip, playing in the Whiskey and The Roxy. This year, the festival honors them with the Elmer Valentine Award (named after the co-founder of the Whiskey and The Roxy), previously given to Ozzy Osbourne and Lou Adler. Even the City of West Hollywood is gearing up, declaring Thursday, Aug. 18, “Mötley Crüe Day”.

“So many of us native Angelenos consider Mötley Crüe to be our ‘home boys,’” West Hollywood Mayor John Duran said. “It will be an honor to recognize the ‘Saints of Los Angeles’ in our hometown and thank them for the incredible contribution they made to hard rock, glam and Southern California music.”

Rather than seek Coachellian heights, Adler and Todd Steadmen, executive director of the Sunset Strip Business Association, the organization behind the festival, hope the SSMF will increase at a steady rate. To that end, they’ve already surpassed last year’s ticket sales.

“Each year it continues to grow, last year with 13,000 and 10,000 the year before,” Steadman said. “We’re not like any other festival. We have an idea that it’ll be bigger, but we want to grow at a manageable rate – not too quickly.”

For Steadman, the SSMF is both an important tool to encourage West Hollywood business growth, and something to for the community that lives nearby.

“We do the festival to honor the Strip’s history. From Johnny Rivers to the Doors to Guns N’ Roses, it makes sense to do this festival,” Steadman said. “We do it for the community. It was started by grassroots organizations and the City of West Hollywood. It wasn’t a large promoter that started it, but the combined efforts of music venues, the city and our association.”

Adler can’t speak highly enough about what the festival means to him.

“You see the love in this festival. It’s all very organic,” Adler said. “When it’s authentic like that, it really shows throughout the entire experience. As someone who spends a lot of time in West Hollywood, I’m very proud.”

Adler also stressed that the ticket prices are set – no hidden fees or extra charges. For tickets and band lineups, visit www.sunsetStripmusicfestival.com.

“I love L.A. in general right now,” Adler said. “You have three or four L.A.-born festivals that are really important. It’s a good time to live in L.A.”