Cleveland - Despite the pandemic, you can jam to free live music on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s outdoor plaza all summer long.
The Rock Hall Live! summer lineup showcases the best of Cleveland’s homegrown talent featuring nationally touring artists, acts that have shared the stage with musical icons, and local favorites.
With health and safety guidelines in place, the Rock Hall and its plaza are now open. The plaza offers food and beer trucks, beer garden, socially distanced outdoor seating, free motorcycle and bicycle parking, and is pet friendly. Everyone who enters the plaza participates in a brief health screening including a no-touch temperature check.
LIVE & LOCAL SERIES
Thursdays & Saturdays 5-7 p.m.
Rock Hall Plaza (Beer Garden)
Free ticket required at rockhall.com
• Thurs., 7/2 - Big Jul Green: Genre blending artist combining pop with hip-hop and rock.
• Sat., 7/4 - Madeline Finn: Sparse folk, meditative piano ballads, twangy rock, and string-laced indie. 2020 winner of John Lennon Singer Songwriter contest and former American Idol finalist.
• Thurs., 7/9 - Thor Platter: From vocals carried along freely by the accompaniment of rollicking banjo and harmonica to toe-tapping jams and sweetly confident ballads.
• Sat., 7/11 – Liz Kelly: Front woman of the Cleveland psych rock band, The Village Bicycle. Fun, upbeat songs about outer space and cognitive dissonance.
• Thurs., 7/16 - Austin Walkin’ Cane: A blues gumbo repertoire featuring slide guitar and soulful vocals that can conjure up the ghosts of highway 61 and the delta blues experience.
• Sat., 7/18 - Tom Evanchuck: On stage storyteller, weaving through tales of love and heartbreak, friendship and the allure of the Midwest.
• Thurs., 7/23 - Moises Borges: Soothing voice and charm that make for a wonderful evening of entertainment for all lovers of Brazilian Jazz.
• Sat., 7/25 - David Smeltz: Founder of Cleveland’s first reggae band outside the Jamaican community, using music as his religion.
• Thurs., 7/30 - Afi Scruggs: One of the few female bassists in Cleveland who’s laid down the low end for some of the city’s finest musicians and won’t blink an eye if you ask her to play any genre.
• Sat., 8/1 - Brent Kirby: Pop songs with catchy hooks, incredible instrumentations, and lyrics with soul.
• Thurs., 8/6 - Nicole Neal: Playing keyboard and guitar with a combination of original songs and covers ranging from blues, pop, soul and jazz.
• Sat., 8/8 - The Shootouts: Blend of high-energy honkey-tonk and traditional country music mixed with touches of Americana and western swing; shared the stage with a who’s who of artists including Sheryl Crow, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Elvis Costello, Zac Brown Band, Chris Isaak, and more.
• Thurs., 8/13 - Kid Tigrrr: Sparkly and ethereal electric solo project of singer-songwriter Jenna Fournier and the shoegaze/alt-rock band NIIGHTS.
• Sat., 8/15 - Ben Gage: From songs sang to the wind to stories about being a hammer, you’ll find yourself feeling as though you’ve heard his songs before even if it’s your first time.
• Thurs., 8/20 - Cats on Holiday: Swamp pop band with a blend of Louisiana inspired rock/roots/zydeco, having shared the stage with acts such as Los Lobos, Marcia Ball, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Buckwheat Zydeco, and Leon Russell to name a few.
• Sat., 8/22 - Ray Flanagan Trio: Sharp edged poetic observations of love and the American experience.
LUNCH BY THE LAKE
Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays 12-2 p.m.
Rock Hall Plaza (Beer Garden)
Free ticket required at rockhall.com (or enjoy as part of your Museum general admission)
Featuring acoustic performances by local artists and showcasing the Rock Hall’s 2020 Artists-in-Residence musicians. Music kicks off this Thursday, July 2. Visit rockhall.com for daily acts.
YOGA ON THE PLAZA
Tuesdays 6-7 p.m.
Rock Hall Plaza
$15 Drop In Class Fee required from Inner Bliss Yoga Studio (https://www.innerblissyogastudio.com/)
Join us for outdoor yoga Tuesday, July 7 and Tuesday, July 14. Bring your mat and water bottle.
FAMILY FUN DAYS
Sundays 12-3 p.m.
Rock Hall Plaza
Free outdoor activities, no ticket required (or enjoy as part of your Museum general admission)
Bring out the whole family, including the kids and the dogs, for live music, music & movement sessions, games, and activities free on the plaza. For even more fun, purchase general admission on Sundays and enjoy scavenger hunts in the Museum as well as the free outdoor activities. (Dogs welcome on the plaza, but not in the Museum.)
RAINEY INSTITUTE DANCE PROGRAMS
July 28th, August 4th, August 6th
Rock Hall Plaza
Free
Join the Rainey Band and their Dance Mastery instructors as they teach youth bucket drumming and dances. Due to the current health crisis, Rainey Institute is bringing arts to the community giving kids the chance to learn something new at prominent places around Cleveland. For more info about visit https://raineyinstitute.org/.
Inside the Museum you’ll also find new artifacts including motorcycles added from Billy Idol and Artimus Pyle of Lynyrd Skynyrd, plus, the Rock Hall has extended its massive Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll exhibit, co-organized with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, through December 2020.
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