The 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony took place at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland over the weekend as the stars were out in full force to pay tribute to this year’s class.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum President and CEO Greg Harris joined Audacy’s Taryn Daly to give us a front row seat to the ceremony and share his thoughts on the night.
“It was one for the ages,” Harris exclaimed as he said the packed crowd of 12,000 attendees were on their feet for most of the night.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted what it has called its “most diverse class ever” as Tina Turner, Carole King, The Go-Go’s, JAY-Z, Foo Fighters, Todd Rundgren, Kraftwerk, Charley Patton, Gil Scott-Heron, LL Cool J, Billy Preston, Randy Rhoads and Clarence Avant all made up the Class of 2021.
Performance is always a big part of the Rock Hall’s induction ceremony as this year saw stunning displays from Taylor Swift, Foo Fighters, Paul McCartney, LL Cool J, Eminem, Jennifer Lopez, H.E.R., Keith Urban, Mickey Guyton, Christina Aguilera, and more.
“One of the magical moments for me,” Harris says, “was as things were happening on stage, I stood up and looked around the entire arena. From the rafters to the front row, it was just jammed and it was so much love.”
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The “love” Harris speaks about extended to beyond the stage as well. “You felt the same thing [with] the artists backstage,” he said. “We had all the COVID protocols in place with testing, keeping people separate, and really working it through with a closed set.”
He continued: “But, between the dressing room and the stage, artists were connecting in the concourses and they were thrilled to see each other. That’s one of the magical things about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. You have Paul McCartney coming in to induct the Foo Fighters. Meanwhile, they’re talking about how important he is to them. He’s talking about how much they mean to him and it’s just kind of this wonderful connection.”
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The 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is set to air on HBO and HBO Max on November 20th.
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