Published on Jan, 2025
I’ve lived in Cleveland my entire life and I travel pretty extensively. When I travel and I tell folks I’m from Cleveland, they always—always—ask about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And I always have to respond by saying that I’ve actually never been there. Well, I’ve finally remedied that by spending an entire afternoon exploring the Rock Hall—it was well worth the 20+ year wait—it rocked.
We took a group, as we had family and friends visiting from northern Michigan. We had kids ranging from ages 10-15, plus adults from 40-75 and what was particularly cool is that there was something for everyone—not a single one of us was bored or uninterested. The older folks in the group loved the first floor, with the exhibits on the history of rock & roll, especially on the earlier years—that was the music they grew up listening too. I think my dad could have spent hours just wandering through that part of the museum alone. I particularly enjoyed the special exhibit on the anniversary of hip hop, as I came of age in the 80s and 90s when hip hop was really breaking through.
We all loved the second-floor garage band where we could jam away like we were rockstars—I think each of us took turns on the drums, the guitars and the keyboards—we were very lucky it wasn’t a crowded day at the museum because we really had a chance to play around and enjoy jamming with each other. Even my dad sat on the couch and played acoustic guitar for probably 20-30 minutes while people watched & listened. Similarly, the kids enjoyed the fourth-floor beat labs, as well, where they could create custom beats.
I particularly enjoyed the special exhibit on the sixth floor on Jon Bonjovi—he’s a favorite of mine and it was Bonjovi heaven up there. I’m glad I got a chance to visit while that exhibit was on display.
We enjoyed the actual hall of fame and finding our favorites—we thought it was cool that you could listen and watch your favorites acceptance speeches. We liked getting to cast our votes for the next class. I think every single one of us would agree that our favorite part of the day was the theater with the video mashup of induction ceremony performances. I could have watched that video on a loop over and over again—I think we all could have. There were just some absolute powerhouse performances. We were all disappointed when it ended.
Overall, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is pretty darn near close to absolute rock & roll perfection. It is incredibly well done—a beautiful blend of history and homage with interactive fun for all ages. It makes me so proud that it’s here in my hometown…Cleveland really does rock!
