Cleveland-bred rapper Kid Cudi and funk veteran George Clinton are on the bill for a free concert April 12 at The Q, as part of the crescendo of hoopla leading up to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony April 14 at Public Auditorium.
The Rock Hall’s top executives discussed plans for the festivities during a Corporate Club luncheon Tuesday at Landerhaven in Mayfield Heights.
“We wanted to make sure that it wasn’t like the circus that comes to town for one night and disappears,” said Terry Stewart, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
“We wait so long for this,” Stewart said. “It should have a profile that’s significant.”
The merrymaking is set to begin March 31 with the Moondog Coronation Ball at The Q. In addition to previously announced events such as the opening of a Grateful Dead exhibition at the Rock Hall, the pre-induction celebration also will include a show by cutting-edge DJ Girl Talk at Public Auditorium and a gospel concert honoring Kirk Franklin at PlayhouseSquare’s State Theatre.
Tickets to the induction ceremony sold out four minutes after they went on sale in December, Stewart said.
The inductions will be simulcast during a party at the Rock Hall itself. An edited version of the ceremony will be televised on HBO in May.
Five years ago, the Rock Hall and city officials announced an agreement to have the ceremony (usually held in New York) in Cleveland every three years, starting in 2009.
“It’s a big undertaking to do a show like this,” said Joel Peresman, president and CEO of the New York-based Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, which oversees the inductions.
The induction ceremony and related events will cost $7 million to stage.
