Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Hits NY Thursday
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The 29th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place Thursday night, and for the first time it will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The list of inductees this year is an eclectic one — with KISS, ex-Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel, influential grunge rockers Nirvana, pop-rock duo Hall and Oates, singer-songwriter Cat Stevens and versatile vocalist Linda Ronstadt all being honored in the performer category.
In addition, Bruce Springsteen’s backing group The E Street Band will be inducted in conjunction with receiving the Award for Music Excellence, while late Beatles manager Brian Epstein and former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham will earn Ahmet Ertegun Awards, presented to non-performers.
As usual, a variety of other famous music stars also will take part in the ceremony as presenters and performers. Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello will induct KISS, Coldplay’s Christopher Martin will induct Gabriel, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe will do the honors for Nirvana, Roots band leader Questlove will induct Hall and Oates and Ronstadt will be inducted by The Eagles’ Glenn Frey.
Springsteen himself will be on hand to pay tribute to The E Street Band, while the person selected to induct Stevens — who now performs under the name Yusuf — hasn’t been announced yet.
As for the performances, honorees Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Yusuf and The E Street Band are all slated to take the Barclays Center stage to play a few tunes. In addition, surviving Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic are expected to rock out with one or more as-yet-unconfirmed guest artists; word has it Joan Jett may be joining them.
Ronstadt, who has been battling Parkinson’s disease, has decided to skip the ceremony, but fellow female singers Stevie Nicks, Carrie Underwood, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris and Sheryl Crow all will take part in a musical tribute to her.
Then there’s the matter of KISS. The band’s leaders, founding members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, announced that the group wouldn’t be performing, partly over disagreements with the two other original members, drummer Peter Criss and lead guitarist Ace Frehley. Stanley and Simmons also have been very critical of the Rock Hall because they feel that the band’s other current members and some of its alumni also should have been inducted.
The 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony begins at 7 p.m. ET. The event is open to the public and tickets were still available at Ticketmaster.com as of Wednesday night. A special featuring highlights from the show is scheduled to premiere on HBO on May 31 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
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