CLEVELAND — Despite the fact that this year's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony has been replaced by a television event due to COVID-19, there will be no shortage of special guests to help honor this year's class.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2020 Induction will debut on Saturday, November 7 at 8:00 p.m. ET on HBO, as well as streaming on HBO Max.
The radio simulcast can be heard on SiriusXM at 8 p.m. ET on Nov. 7 on Classic Vinyl (channel 26), VOLUME (channel 106), and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Radio (channel 310) and online with the SiriusXM app.
The special presentation will honor this year’s inductees: Depeche Mode, The Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails, The Notorious B.I.G., and T. Rex. It will also salute Ahmet Ertegun Award honorees Jon Landau and Irving Azoff.
You can read in-depth bios of each inductee HERE.
(Watch the video below highlighting the 2020 inductees is from Jan. 15 when the new class was announced):
Here is the list of special guests who will help highlight the contributions of the Class of 2020:
- Luke Bryan
- Sean “Diddy” Combs
- Miley Cyrus
- Billy Gibbons
- Dave Grohl
- Don Henley
- Jennifer Hudson
- Billy Idol
- Iggy Pop
- Alicia Keys
- Adam Levine
- Chris Martin
- Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Brad Paisley
- Bruce Springsteen
- St. Vincent
- Ringo Starr
- Gwen Stefani
- Charlize Theron
- Nancy Wilson
According to its official release, Grohl will kick off the show with a heartfelt introduction to this year’s class of inductees, and the special guests will speak further on how the 2020 Inductees impacted their personal and professional careers.
“We’re honored to come together with this distinguished group of musicians and artists to celebrate our 2020 class of Inductees,” said Joel Peresman, President and CEO of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation in a statement. “While this year’s program will be different than those of years past, we look forward to recognizing their impact on the industry, their fans and the next generation of artists.”
This year's ceremony was initially slated for May 2 before it was postponed to Nov. 7 because of the coronavirus pandemic. In July, organizers announced the move from an in-person ceremony to the exclusive HBO special. The Rock Hall itself reopened to the public on June 15 with a variety of new safety precautions after a months-long closure.
The 2021 Rock Hall induction ceremony will take place in Cleveland next fall.
Each inductee was chosen by a committee of more than 1,000 people, including former inductees, historians and members of the music industry. The fan ballot is also a factor that's tallied when determining the final class. To be eligible for induction, an individual artist or band must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. Factors used when determining the inductees are:
- The artist's musical influence on other artists.
- Length / depth of career and body of work.
- Innovation and superiority in style / technique.
In July, we spoke with Rock Hall CEO Greg Harris about the move from an in-person induction ceremony to a television special. You can watch in the player below.