Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney to Present at Rock Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has rolled out its first batch of presenters and performers for the October 30th induction ceremony at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio.

Taylor Swift will welcome Carole King into the Hall alongside taking part in King’s performance along with Jennifer Hudson. It will mark Swift’s first time playing to a live audience since the Grammys in March.

Angela Bassett, who played Tina Turner in the 1993 biopic What’s Love Got To Do With It, will induct the singer. Christina Aguilera, Mickey Guyton, H.E.R., and Bryan Adams will all be on hand to perform Turner songs.

Paul McCartney will speak for the Foo Fighters, Drew Barrymore will induct the Go-Gos, and Lionel Richie will present Sussex Records founder Clarence Avant with the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

Organizers have yet to announce who will induct Jay-Z, Todd Rundgren, Kraftwerk, Charley Patton, Gil Scott-Heron, LL Cool J, Billy Preston or Randy Rhoads.

It’s unclear if Turner will travel to America from her home in Switzerland to attend the ceremony. Rundgren has a concert in Cincinnati that evening, but he still may find a way to take part in the show. “My relationship with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, quite obviously, it’s not copacetic,” Rundgren told Ultimate Classic Rock in September. “I have offered to do something live for them from my venue. I will stop my show and acknowledge the award and mostly acknowledge my fans, because it’s for them.”

Last year, the Hall of Fame held a virtual ceremony due to the pandemic. It was a combination of remote speeches by the 2020 class along with mini documentaries about their careers. Earlier this year, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame chairman John Sykes told IndieLand that the HBO broadcast of the show this year will likely incorporate some of those elements.

“I think you’ll see a great live event,” he said, “and maybe a hybrid show on HBO that will be a combination of live music and some of these documentary-style pieces that really told the story of the inductees.”