My Experience at the 2024 Induction Ceremony

By: Emily Eade

It was the weekend of the 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony here in Cleveland, Ohio. This award is considered by many to be Rock and Roll’s highest honor, so I knew there were going to be several famous musicians and actors all around Cleveland. Little did I know that I would have a story for the books. 

After a long few hours of hanging out at random hotels; going on a wild goose chase; seeing women dressed in gowns as if they walked out of a Jane Austen novel, and talking to the infamous ‘eBoys.’ I got the gist of things, where to go, and who I could see. 

I was standing outside of the Westin, and a car pulled up. The door opened, and I saw someone with long, luscious golden locks. As they turned around, my eyes went wide, and I started to laugh. It was Joel Hoekstra, a musician you may not know, but Joel is famous in my book. In 2018, I saw the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and who was performing right in front of me? Joel. Ever since then, he would show up on stage at all sorts of different concerts my Aunt or I would go to, making it a game of ‘Where’s Joel?’ Anyway, I went up to him and asked for a photo. He seemed ecstatic that someone knew who he was. My only answer was, “His name is Joel, and he is a touring guitar player for Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Whitesnake, and Cher.” Hence why he was there… 

The next event had a change in scenery. I was on the second floor of the Hilton where I sat at the bar with my Aunt Sandi and Joe, a friend of my aunts. We noticed a few musicians behind us. As I stared into my bowl of french fries, my heart and thoughts began to race, but Joe took me out of my thoughts, “Emily, who is that guy with the beard?” I looked, “Is that Zakk Wylde? No, that can’t be.” The man got up and stood next to Joe and we asked him where we knew him from. He only said that he was there for Ozzy and then left. It was in fact Zakk Wylde, Ozzy Osbourne’s guitar player himself. Before he left, he stopped to talk with someone who had led my heart to beat out of my chest. This man eventually got up and walked out of the bar… and I followed him. As we walked down the stairs, he stopped two women dressed in 19th-century style gowns to tell them they were dressed wonderfully. I caught up to him and asked him for a picture. He agreed and invited those same two women to join. After taking this picture, I said, “I am a big fan of your band, ‘Transcending’ has to be my favorite song of yours, thank you.” He just smiled and walked away. I turned around, and the two women asked me who he was. We all grabbed hands, and I said, “That was Chad Smith, the drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.” They started to freak out. They had come to Cleveland for a Jane Austen conference only to meet the rock star, Chad Smith.

I have no proof of these next two events. For all I know, they could be a figment of my imagination, except too many people were there to witness what I have to say next. 

It was after the Induction that my Aunt Sandi, Uncle John, and I walked from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse to Tower City and sat by the entrance of the Ritz. I looked over, and there he was, the musician I had gone on a wild goose chase for that morning. And he walked right past me. “Aunt Sandi!!! There he is!!!” We ran into the Ritz as he hopped on the elevator. Aunt Sandi urged me to get on the elevator with him. I was in an incoherent state and my heart was pounding out out of my chest as I hopped onto the elevator at the second. The crowded lobby of the Ritz laughed as they saw my face of pure shock and fear as the doors closed. There I was, face to face with Peter Frampton. Yes, as in the blue-eyed, Englishman from things such as the Herd, Humble Pie, or better known for ‘Frampton Comes Alive!’ and I could not say a thing. All I could do was stare and nod. I wish I could have told him how important he was to me; how I had just seen him in concert a few months prior and cried the whole time, and how I cried throughout the entire induction process for him. 

It was at least an hour later that Uncle John had left. Aunt Sandi and I found ourselves outside of a bar that had two security guards standing outside of it. We were about to leave when the door opened, and there stood Joe, “They’re good. Guys come on in, come on in.” We walked past the visibly confused security guards and made our way into the bar. To my left there was Flavor Flav from Public Enemy and across from me on the other side of the bar there was Dave Matthews. What the hell did Joe get us into? Oh, you know, only Dave Matthews’ private party! How could the night get any better than this? I turned around and there was none other than the goddess herself, Julia Roberts standing right behind us. 

To say the least, it was a crazy few days, and so many events took place, even ones I didn’t bring up. I will forever keep these crazy moments deep in my heart. I am thankful for every moment of it, and the people I encountered along the way.