Rock & Roll Hall ceremony back in Cleveland for 2018

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 2018 induction ceremony will be held on April 14 at Public Hall in Cleveland, the hall announced Wednesday.

The ceremony will be returning to Cleveland for the first time since 2015 and only the fifth time since the museum opened in 1995. In addition to the induction ceremony itself, there will also be a full week’s worth of Rock Hall-related activities at the museum and around Northeast Ohio.

Rock Hall CEO Greg Harris said the 2017 festivities in Brooklyn was “remarkable, best I’ve ever attended, just terrific,” he said, citing Pearl Jam “raising the roof ” and the traditional end of ceremony all-star jam on Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World.

But Harris, who has been with the Rock Hall since 2008 and became CEO in 2012, admits he prefers it when the ceremony takes place in Cleveland.

“Wherever it is, it’s a great night. But what’s different in Cleveland, it’s a whole week and it’s a massive celebration and we do things the weekend before. We do things all week long ... and it becomes sort of a whole festival week. When it’s in New York it’s a terrific event, but it’s one of half a dozen great events happening that night in New York,” Harris said.

Harris said fans can expect a “huge community celebration,” likely with a “massive” fireworks display to a rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack, on the kick-off weekend of April 7, with free admission to the hall, exhibit dedications and “lots of live music.”

Along with the scheduled events, Harris suggested there may be a few surprise shows by inductees; both Green Day and Metallica performed small venue sets for fans, friends and families when they came to Cleveland for the ceremony. Harris also said he expects area clubs and promoters to book their own special events as they have done in the past, to expand the festival-week feel.

“We encourage that, and we will then include it in all of our induction marketing and the bigger umbrella of what’s going on that week. Because those are the events you need, so that people will come and spend a few days in town and really experience induction week,” Harris said.

Harris noted that Cleveland’s ceremonies were the first to allow fans to purchase tickets, and said it’s always a great night, but it’s a little more special in Cleveland.

“You always love a home game, and there is something magical,” he said.

“And I’m comfortable saying that the artists have also indicated they love the experience in Cleveland because they get to see the museum, they get to connect with fans in a different way, and it’s a bigger celebration when it’s a full week instead of just one night.”

An amendment inserted in the proposed state budget would require future public-service ad campaigns — such as one used last year by Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel to promote a savings plan for people with Down syndrome — to get the full amount approved by the Ohio Controlling Board.

Mandel’s television ads with Ohio State University football coach Urban Meyer and a young woman with Down syndrome aired statewide from June to December last year at a cost to taxpayers of $1.7 million.

The ads, which featured all three people talking and a playful high-five between Meyer and the young woman, were paid for in increments of less than $50,000, which kept them from controlling board overview.

The amendment would require expenditures of more than $50,000 intended for advertising campaigns to be approved by the controlling board, made up of six state lawmakers and a member of the governor’s administration, even if spent in smaller chunks.

State Rep. Keith Faber, R-Medina, who chaired the subcommittee that wrote the amendment, said Mandel’s ad campaign was mentioned in testimony. He said the ad campaign was done legally and was mandated by legislation, but in retrospect should have been scrutinized by the controlling board.

“There was just a concern that when you have large advertising campaigns by state agencies it ought to be confirmed by the controlling board,” Faber said. “There was testimony in the subcommittee and I believe this amendment was offered by both parties. The thought was, let’s be transparent.”

He said he didn’t know if the controlling board would have insisted on any changes in the ad campaign.

The ads came just before Mandel announced in December he would run for the Republican Party nomination to take on U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, in 2018.

Mandel spokesman Chris Berry said the Mandel administration reviewed the amendment and had no objection to it. He cited more than a dozen other state agencies and elected officials who had produced TV commercials featuring elected officials and that cost more than $50,000.

“Treasurer Mandel is on the side of the taxpayers and is proud to be a national leader in helping people with Down syndrome, autism, and other disabilities,” Berry said.

Berry said a statewide publicity campaign was essential to getting the word out so affected families would know to use the program, which allows families of people with Down syndrome to save and invest money taxfree for housing, education and other expenses without affecting their disability benefits. He cited statistics showing the campaign’s success.

The 2015 law setting up the “Achieving a Better Living Experience” program in Ohio for those with disabilities required Mandel “to develop marketing plans and promotional materials to publicize” the accounts. The 2016-17 state budget gave Mandel’s office $2 million each year to implement the program. Ohio was the first state in the country to offer enrollment in STABLE Accounts.

Featured was Anne Gerhardt, 18, of Cincinnati, who was the first person in America to open a STABLE Account. Her father, Chip Gerhardt, was instrumental in getting federal legislation passed.

“The STABLE [public service announcements] have absolutely nothing to do with Treasurer Mandel’s campaign for U.S. Senate,” Berry said. “Rather, the STABLE PSAs are about helping Ohioans with disabilities and making sure Ohio families are aware that this new investment option exists to foster financial independence and a higher quality of life for their loved ones with disabilities.”