The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame opened its 2026 Inductees Exhibit to the public on Monday, Nov. 9. It shows artifacts from this year’s induction class, according to Cleveland.com.
Billy Idol, Luther Vandross, Iron Maiden, Oasis, Joy Division/New Order, Wu-Tang Clan, Sade, and Phil Collins go in as Performers this year, per the Rock Hall. MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Gram Parsons, Fela Kuti, and Celia Cruz are the Early Influences inductees. Jimmy Miller, Rick Rubin, Linda Creed, and Arif Mardin earn spots for Musical Excellence. Ed Sullivan will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
Visitors can see the cyberpunk helmet Billy Idol wore in the “Shock to the System” video, per Cleveland.com. They can also see a custom Dior jacket that Luther Vandross wore on his 1991-92 Power of Love tour. A tambourine from Oasis singer Liam Gallagher sits nearby, along with a kick drum head painted with the Union Jack flag. Celia Cruz appears through her dresses, one of them from the “La Negra Tiene Tumbao” video, and one of her wigs.
Gram Parsons gets a display with two guitars loaned by Emmylou Harris. One is a Gibson J-200 acoustic he used as his main songwriting guitar. The case also holds handwritten lyrics, a journal, and two shirts. Rodeo tailor Nudie Cohn made one shirt. Pamela Des Barres made the purple one.
“I was privileged to be able to curate this display for Gram Parsons as part of the exhibit this year. I was really thrilled to find out that Emmylou Harris was willing to loan two guitars that she owns that Graham had played,” said Andy Leach, senior director of museum archive collections at the Rock Hall, per Cleveland.com.
Peter Hook’s first bass guitar is on view, too. The Joy Division/New Order bassist bought it the day after he saw the Sex Pistols in Manchester in 1976. He didn’t know how to play bass, so he wrote the notes on the fretboard in marker. Phil Collins’ display includes the tuxedo he wore to the 1986 GRAMMY Awards and a card he sent from Oslo, Norway, in 1994.
“I think maybe my favorite things visually are Fela Kuti’s suits that his family loaned us and sent from Nigeria,” Leach said. The museum also shows MC Lyte’s jacket from the 2006 VH1 Hip Hop Honors and a 1994 Honda Fireblade from Queen Latifah’s “U.N.I.T.Y.” video. On the fourth floor, a 1985 Harley-Davidson Wide Glide owned by Billy Idol waits for fans, according to Axios.
Iron Maiden’s display isn’t ready yet. Crews expect to finish it within a week or two, and it will include artifacts for every inducted band member. The exhibit will stay open for about a year.
The induction ceremony takes place on Saturday, Nov. 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. ABC will air it Dec. 8. On Friday, Nov. 6, the Rock Hall held a member preview, according to Cleveland 19. Cuyahoga County residents can see the exhibit for free on Nov. 22, the day the museum debuts its 50,000-square-foot expansion. Find the museum at 1100 Rock N Roll Blvd. in Cleveland.
