While there can only be five eventually inducted into the 2019 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when inductees are announced this December, the 15 nominees for this year’s class are one step of the way into inclusion in this hallowed hall. Nominees for 2019 include Def Leppard, Devo, Janet Jackson, John Prine, Kraftwerk, LL Cool J, MC5, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Roxy Music, the Cure, Todd Rundgren, Rufus & Chaka Khan, the Zombies and perhaps the early frontrunner for induction, Stevie Nicks (who is already inducted as a member of Fleetwood Mac).
While the induction announcement will take place in December of 2018, the actual ceremony will be months later on March 29, 2019. The ceremony takes place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, the same city that it’s been held in for the last two years. New York is the typical home for the event, though it’s been hosted in Los Angeles twice and in the Hall of Fame’s home city of Cleveland four times. Starting this year, the ceremony will alternate between New York City and Cleveland.
Artists become eligible 25 years after the release of their first album. That means this is the first time that Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine have been eligible for nomination, a pretty impressive accomplishment for two of the ’90s and ’00s biggest bands (though in dramatically different genres of rock). This is also the first time several of 2019’s nominees have received a nomination, including Def Leppard, Devo, John Prine, Roxy Music, Stevie Nicks and Todd Rundgren. The other will hope that this is the year their nomination turns into a full-fledged induction into one of music’s most revered institutions.
The nomination process involved nearly 1000 artists, historians and other music industry figures, as well as vote from the general public. You can submit a ballot of the five artists you find most deserving of induction into the hall, which counts as one vote. Head to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s website to vote between October 9 and December 9. Last year’s inductees were Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, The Moody Blues, The Cars and Nina Simone.
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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