Awards

What better way to start the 2024 Rock Hall ceremony than with one of the biggest pop stars in the world performing a cover of another of the biggest pop stars in the world’s biggest hits? Dressed in a slinky, black dress, Dua Lipa brought the audience to their feet with a rendition of Cher’s “Believe.” By the time the bridge came around, Cher herself emerged dressed in a leather bustier and black chaps, helping Dua finish out the song in fabulous fashion. For those that wanted to see the 78-year-old icon deliver a solo performance, Cher made sure to give them an encore before accepting her induction into the Rock Hall, performing a rousing rendition of “If I Could Turn Back Time” to a screaming crowd.

Known for her sharp wit, Cher didn’t spare anyone during her induction speech — including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame itself. When remarking on her long-awaited induction into the Hall, Cher cracked that it felt harder than it needed to be. ““It was easier getting divorced from two men than it was getting into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” she joked. “I want to thank David Geffen, because he wrote a letter and sent it to the directors, and now, ha ha, here I am!”

When two of Kool & the Gang’s original members finally reunited on the stage at Saturday’s ceremony, you could feel the electricity. James J.T. Taylor and Robert “Kool” Bell made the most of their induction into the Hall, jumping into an absolutely thrilling medley of their greatest hits. Jumping on stage dressed in a set of bedazzled shirts and collars, the band powered through “Hollywood Swinging,” “Get Down on It,” “Ladies Night,” and “Jungle Boogie,” before closing out their stellar sit with a banging rending of “Celebration.”

Throughout an extensive performance of some of her biggest hits, legendary singer-songwriter Dionne Warwick brought out none other than Jennifer Hudson to assist her on her classic track “I’ll Never Love This Way Again.” Riffing and belting back and forth over the iconic track’s closing verses, there pair brought the audience to a standing ovation by the time they were through.

We could have just had Rick Wills, Lou Gramm and Al Greenwood onstage and that would have been an amazing Foreigner performance. But instead, alongside the acting members of the the legendary rock group, we got a cavalcade of rock and pop superstars coming through to perform some of their greatest hits. Chad Smith smashed the drums, Slash blared on the guitar, and a rotating roster of pop stars came through to give voice to the iconic songs. Demi Lovato joined to belt out the chorus of “Feels Like the First Time,” Sammy Hagar appeared for a raucous rendition of “Hot Blooded,” and Kelly Clarkson closed out the tribute with a phenomenal version of “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

After Pearl Jam’s Michael McCready declared that the he belonged in the “pantheon of guitar players” alongside Clapton and Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, Peter Frampton triumphantly took to the stage to perform some of his greatest hits, kicking things off with “Baby (Something’s Happening).”

But the performance’s best moment came when Keith Urban joined the legendary guitarist onstage for a guitar-sparring duet to “Do You Feel Like We Do.” Trading licks back and forth (and even pulling out a talk box for the song’s iconic breakdown), the pair made for one of the best rock performances of the evening.

Dave Matthews served double duty at Saturday’s ceremony, attending as both an inductee and an artist paying tribute to one of the greats: Jimmy Buffett. Taking to the stage armed with his acoustic guitar, Matthews bid a tearful farewell to the iconic tropical rock singer. “I’m so happy to be here to honor Jimmy,” he said, fighting back tears. “He made everyone feel special; he made me feel very special. I wish he could be here, but it’s too late.”

Launching into “a song that he wrote about being too late,” Matthews gave a sweet, somber rendition of Buffett’s song “A Pirate Looks at Forty.” With an image of rippling waves behind him, Matthews delivered on the promise of the performance, getting more than a few of the star-studded audience members visibly teary-eyed.

In his opening remarks to introduce the groundbreaking hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, comedian Dave Chappell made himself clear when it came to the group’s impact on music: “I know this is Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but this movement in hip-hop was the birth of so many great artists,” he said, before gesturing to the band. “And it started with these men sitting at this table.”

Throughout his passionate speech, Chapelle laid out the foundations and come-up of the band, highlighting their forming of the Native Tongues as a cultural touchstone for modern hip-hop. But he saved his most emotional remarks for last, when he thanked the band for all they’d done for him personally, specifically following the death of founding member Phife Dawg. “Tribe, I want to thank you for your service. What you’ve done for our culture means the world to me, but what you did for me changed my life,” he said. “You shared your platform with me and invited me to be on Saturday Night Live with you, and it brought me back to television after 12 years in the cold. And I will always be grateful for you.”

Even after Chappelle’s touching remarks and the band’s moving speech, the fun still wasn’t over for A Tribe Called Quest. A veritable who’s who of hip hop royalty arrived on the stage to celebrate the hip-hop crew’s incredible impact. Kicking things off, DJ Maseo of De La Soul and Queen Latifah — accompanied by The Roots — delivered a high-energy performance to “Can I Kick It?,” with Latifah taking on the bossed-up energy of Q-Tip’s verses.

Immediately after, Black Thought and De La Soul’s Kelvin Mercer turned the heat up with a tribute to “Check the Rhime,” trading Q and Phife’s verses back and forth, before Common crashed their perfomance with one of his own to “Bonita Applebum.” And in a fiery closing moment, Busta Rhymes appeared onstage to help the group deliver a stunning rendition of the group’s iconic posse cut “Scenario,” bringing the whole crowd to their feet.

Introduced as an artist who “single-handedly created an entirely new genre of music” by Dr. Dre & Method Man, Mary J. Blige proved them right throughout her excellent performance. Dripping in a diamond crusted bodysuit, Blige and a set of her backup dancers grooved across the stage to her hit “My Life,” before being joined on stage by Ella Mai for a duet to her jam “Love No Limit.” But it was with her closing tracks — “Be Happy” and “Family Affair” — that Mary J. Blige earned the praise of Method Man openly yelling “you killed that s–t” as she exited the stage.

After refusing to “bore you with a long, drawn-out f–king monologue,” Ozzy Osbourne watched as his legacy as the “greatest frontman in history” (as Jack Black put it) was tributed by a parade of some of the biggest names in rock music. Starting with Maynard James Keenan and Wolfgang Van Halen performing his iconic hit “Crazy Train,” the performance saw artists including Jelly Roll and Robert Trujillo (“Mama, I’m Coming Home”), Billy Idol and Zakk Wylde (“No More Tears”) and others arrive to hail the induction of the Prince of Darkness himself.

After a hilarious introduction from Julia Roberts — which included the tale of her misadventures Googling the band she was honoring — the Dave Matthews Band closed out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony with one, glorious jam. No special guests or surprise moments; it was just the band doing exactly what their fans love seeing them do. Running through a set of their most beloved tracks (“Ants Marching,” “Crash Into Me,” “So Much to Say” and “Too Much”), the band treated the stage at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse like yet another stage for them to conquer. And conquer they did — at multiple points, Matthews stopped singing to let the cheering crowd gleefully sing their songs right back to them.

Even after Matthews gave his heartfelt speech thanking everyone involved for the band’s induction, the band still wasn’t done. Dave declared that they would play some “walking away music” — and they offered a fired-up rendition of the Talking Head’s “Burning Down the House” in honor of Stop Making Sense‘s 40th anniversary.