Will Todd Rundgren and Belinda Carlisle Skip Rock Hall Induction?
As the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony draws closer, it appears that two of this year’s honorees may not be in attendance.
Both Todd Rundgren and Belinda Carlisle, lead singer of the Go-Go’s, have booked performances on Oct. 30, the night of the ceremony. Carlisle’s gig is set to take place in Sheffield, England, and while Rundgren’s date is a little closer to home, his planned Cincinnati concert is still a four hour drive from the Cleveland venue where the induction ceremony will take place.
Though neither artist has officially confirmed they’ll be skipping the event, both have previously expressed skepticism regarding the Hall.
"It's no secret that I don't care about it," Rundgren told Billboard shortly after the 2021 nominations were announced. "It doesn't matter how many times they nominate me. It's not gonna make me care."
Rundgren also decried the Hall as "an industry invention" and referred to the institution’s fan vote as a “scam.” "True halls of fame are for retirees and dead people, because your legacy has been established," he opined. "I'm too busy working to worry about my legacy.”
Similarly, Carlisle has criticized the Hall’s inner workings, while also suggesting the Go-Go’s wait for enshrinement was due to some kind of grudge. “I don't think I would show up now. I don't go in for the corporate thing,” the singer admitted to Yahoo in 2020. “I do think it's personal. I know for a fact that there are quite a few people that don't like us on the panel, whatever they are. That's fine. You can't deny what we've done. I'm not saying that in an arrogant way. I'm just stating facts.”
Though Carlisle may not attend the induction ceremony, other members of the Go-Go’s seem likely to participate. In a 2021 interview with Sirius XM, the band’s members were very vocal about their intentions to attend, with guitarist Jane Wiedlin admitting she “cried until I peed my pants” when she found out they were getting in. Carlisle did not participate in the interview.