Rocking Out in Cleveland

Six years after architect I.M. Pei’s celebrated Louvre pyramids debuted, he brought his same design flair to Cleveland and the shores of Lake Erie when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened.

Situated in Ohio’s largest metropolitan area, the museum is an easy drive for a large swath of the Midwest and Ontario’s population—from Chicago to Toronto and Detroit to Cincinnati.

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The museum’s exhibit halls, which are largely underground, feature a breathtaking array of exhibits from rock’s greatest royalty. Some favorites include the Elvis exhibit's 14-minute movie of the superstar performing live, which is almost hypnotic, and Summer of Love, a special exhibit on display until February 11.

I stared at an enormous poster depicting the four horsemen of the apocalypse reimagined as musicians for a good five minutes. It is engrossing, and I tried to imagine it hanging at the Matrix, a San Francisco club originally opened so Jefferson Airplane would have a venue to perform in. (It was The Grateful Dead’s home base at one point, too.)

You’ll also discover a magical film about American Bandstand’s innumerable guests over the years, a series of displays on how different cities influenced rock in specific decades, and some of the most iconic outfits worn by music artists on stage and in videos.

I loved the drama of “Don’t Knock the Rock”—a series of videos, images and quotes (from both sides) of how politics has pushed back against the constant rebellion of rock music. It was fun to see photos of both Tipper Gore and Frank Zappa testifying before Congress, on polar opposite sides of the issue.

Video Killed the Radio Star, on the second level, is another must-see exhibit, as it documents the evolution and creativity of music video through four artists—Madonna, Michael Jackson, Peter Gabriel and Tom Petty. The Early Influencers shows how pre-rock music affected today’s musical artists, while the topmost levels of the tower are currently featuring an exhibit on the 50th anniversary of Rolling Stone magazine, along with a very interesting retrospective of the publication’s most iconic covers.

Michelle Froese, 42, and her son, Jaeden, 22, were in town from Vancouver, Canada, and made a beeline for the Rock Hall. Jaeden, who’s producing a new Vancouver music radio program called Pacific Sound Radio said that his passion for music made the museum a must-see.

“The Rock Hall is the place to discover the people behind the music,” he said. “The people who influenced entire decades, cities and cultures. That’s what drew me to visit. It’s where you can see how nearly a century of music has developed and grown into what it is now.”

Michelle, who had visited Cleveland previously, was also attracted by the architecture of the building.

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“It's hard to miss the glass double pyramid shape. And I loved learning how environmentally conscious the Hall owners are, using remnants from past exhibits or sending older exhibit features to a reclamation facility for recycling. I know that’s not music related, but perhaps an added perk for visitors who are clean-energy advocates,” she said.

Both felt that the museum was worth multiple visits to fully learn and read about all the artists. Jaeden especially appreciated items like the typewriter that Eddie Vedder used for songwriting.

“I really enjoyed how much memorabilia they had there. I was surprised how many small items were featured from different artists,” he said. “It shows there’s so much more behind each artist than a simple song.”

Their only critique? While there was a lot to see and do, both wished the displays were even more interactive.

The Hall is massively updating the actual Hall of Fame portion and the adjacent “Power of Rock Experience,” a Jonathan Demme-directed film that captures the energy of an Induction Ceremony. Both are expected to debut in April when Cleveland hosts the biggest music party of the year—the Induction Ceremony itself.