Summer is coming to a close and we are all scrambling to make plans to stretch out the season. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is the perfect place to go for a day or weekend adventure. The mission of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is to educate visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and continuing significance of rock and roll music. The museum has seven…(yes, I said seven), floors as well as the hall of fame, four theaters for films and the Rock Hall. The Rock Hall has many ever-changing exhibits that tell the story of rock and roll. 

Recently the museum unveiled its latest special exhibition, Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Satisfaction. Spanning two and a half floors of the Rock Hall, it's the Museum’s first ever major exhibition capturing the band’s legendary career spanning more than 50 years. It includes personal items and extraordinary collections that have never been seen before by the public.

Along with the exhibit, a number of great events are happening at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum this summer, including the annual Summer in the City Concert Series, which features some of the country's hottest up-and-coming bands performing for free on the outdoor plaza stage.

Wednesday, August 28 (7-10 pm): Lottery League Summer Grand Finale featuring Queen of Hell, Douglas Adams' Family, Dinosaur Coffin and Psychic Thrills

The Rock Hall is offering free Gallery Talks every Tuesday focused on a different artist or era in Rock and Roll history. Current talks include the Rolling Stones (8/20), the British Invasion and the Beatles (8/27), Jimi Hendrix and Elvis Presley.

Another unique feature for the Rock Hall are the Library and Archives located on the Metro Campus of Cuyahoga Community College. The library contains over 200 archival collections, including the personal papers of performers, radio disc jockeys, photographers, journalists, critics, historians, poster artists, collectors, fans, and fan clubs.

We sat down with two of the curators, Meredith Rutledge and Howard Kramer, for some insight on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

How do you choose what temporary exhibits are featured in the museum?
Temporary exhibits at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame come about in a number of ways. Our larger, featured exhibits are the result of years of planning based on how we can most successfully fulfill the Museum's mission and tell the story of rock and roll as only we can. Our exhibit decisions can be based on important milestones, such as the Rollings Stones' 50th anniversary for our current featured exhibit. Sometimes we can take advantage of a window of availability in an artist's busy schedule, such as we were able to do with our Bruce Springsteen exhibit. 

The more permanent exhibits, are they changed up often? (Switch up Brittany’s outfit with Jack White’s hat and jacket)
We try to rotate artifacts in and out of the permanent exhibits to keep the exhibits fresh for repeat visitors and to highlight new acquisitions, but also for conservation reasons. Though our exhibit conditions are optimal for preservation of the artifacts, it's best to give items a "rest" periodically to ensure they will be available for visitors to enjoy and learn from for generations to come.

The artifacts in the displays…are they donated, borrowed, rented?
All of our artifacts are donated or loaned.  As a relatively young institution, one of our challenges has been to amass a collection of items that we own, so that we don't have to rely on borrowed artifacts.  

With all of the new genres of music popping up, will it be hard to represent them all?
We think of rock and roll as a living, breathing artform. In our Right Here, Right Now exhibit we feature artists on the cutting edge of music, and we are excited to chronicle rock and roll's continuing evolution. 

With the summer concert series coming to a close, are there plans for a fall series?
While we don’t have a fall concert series, we do have our 18th Annual American Music Masters series the week of October 21, culminating with a music conference and a tribute concert on Saturday, October 26th. We will be announcing this year’s honoree in the coming weeks.

I am headed up for another visit this month and am excited to dig into those archives.  Want to head down for your own visit? Enter to win tics HERE.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
1100 Rock and Roll Blvd Cleveland, OH 44114