Sure, we’d all like to flee to the Cleve and club up and down at the Flats, so let’s use this as an excuse to make it happen. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced the performers and presenters for this year’s induction ceremony, which will take place on Saturday, October 19. Just give in to the Mad Libs of it all when we tell you who’s showing up: Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, Ella Mai, James Taylor, Jelly Roll, Julia Roberts, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Lucky Daye, Mac McAnally, Method Man, Roger Daltrey, Sammy Hagar, Slash, and the Roots. The Hall teased that more names will be revealed before the ceremony, which will stream live on Disney+ and air as a condensed special on ABC on New Year’s Day. It’ll be 20 years since the best induction performance of all time. Pressure’s on.
As a reminder, eight acts are being inducted this year in the performers category. The octet of Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Ozzy Osbourne, and A Tribe Called Quest will be recognized as the main group of achievers. Alexis Korner, John Mayall, Big Mama Thornton, Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick, Norman Whitfield, and Suzanne de Passe will double the list as they enter through backdoor awards that honor their respective legacies. While some easy parallels can be drawn between this grab bag of famous names — Chesney and Buffett shared a close friendship, for example, as do Osbourne and Slash — feel free to have some fun in the comments about an amusing pair that could strain credulity. Did Lipa’s Barbie collaborator, Mark Ronson, turn her on to his stepfather’s band? Has Daltrey moved on from when he punched a fan for referring to him as Frampton? Or, dare we say, has Taylor been waiting decades to do a reciprocal queen-out with Cher?