Rock Hall opens new exhibit in time for extended hour weekend following Thanksgiving

Awesomeness! Even this superlative falls short in describing the most far reaching exhibit in the history of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I am talking about the mind blowing collection of over 100 objects of rock history that includes iconic guitars, drum sets, key boards and brass instruments used in the actual recordings of music that reshaped the world.

Over five years in the making, “Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock and Roll” has now opened at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame after a blockbuster and record breaking showing (over 600,000 visitors) at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The exhibit gives us a one of a kind experience as this is the first time that a collection of this magnitude has been brought together including some pieces that are on public display for the first time.

The Thursday night grand opening included special guests Nancy Wilson of Heart, Don Felder of The Eagles and Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo of Metallica. After some remarks the four were taken down to the Klipsch Audio Stage where Nancy Wilson made some additional remarks and Don Felder gave an absolutely phenomenal rendition of “Hotel California” on his custom Gibson double neck guitar of which its twin is part of the exhibit. After this stirring show of musicianship the crowd was wound up and electrified as Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo of Metallica arrived to rip through a medley of their most famous songs that had the hundreds of attending fans jumping and singing.

The exhibit which is spread out over four floors (Level 0, 4, 5 and 6) and allows visitors to get within inches (separated by a glass partition, of course) of the most distilled collection of rock history. Included in the displays are:

• Chuck Berry’s Gibson guitar

• Eric Clapton’s Martin acoustic guitar model 000-42 used during his famous MTV Unplugged concert

• Jerry Garcia’s “Wolf” guitar

• Rory Gallagher’s iconic 1961 Fender Stratocaster

• Jimi Hendrix’s hand-decorated electric guitar, dubbed “Love Drops,” made in 1967

• James Jamerson's upright bass used on many early Motown hits

• Keyboard John Paul Jones used to record “Stairway to Heaven”

• Eddie Van Halen’s performance rig from 2013

• Tina Weymouth's "headless" Steinberger bass guitar that she used extensively with Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club through the late 1990s

• Steve Miller's electric guitar painted with psychedelic designs ca. 1972

• Keith Richards's hand-painted Gibson Les Paul Guitar used to record Beggars Banquet

• A sculpture made from what was left of one of Pete Townshend's electric guitars after he smashed the instrument during a photo shoot

• St. Vincent's electric guitar, which Annie "St. Vincent" Clark designed in collaboration with Ernie Ball Music Man in 2015

• A selection of vintage posters from historic concert performances

The exhibit will be at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame through September 13th, 2020.

This year in celebration of Thanksgiving The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame w ill be closed on Thanksgiving Day so that the crew can spend time with their other families but come Friday it will be a whole different matter as extended hours are planned for Friday, November 29 and Saturday, November 30, 2019 with the museum open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

There will be holiday jams as well as a load of giveaways taking place at 12 p.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. (you can enter to win on level 0) as well as Rock Hall themed game shows with great prizes.

Included in the prize list:

• Guitars

• Gift Cards

• Museum Tickets

• Merchandise

• Memberships

• Tickets to the 2020 Induction Red Carpet and Watch Party

Come check out the greatest collection of Rock and Roll history and while there plan to stop by the Garage Band Exhibit where you can try your hand at a variety of rock and Roll instruments.

There are loads of interactive fun things to do for the entire family and there never has been a better time to visit. General Admission is $26.00, Seniors 65yr+ $24.00 and Youth 6-12yr $16.00, members and children under 5 free. Normal hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday up to 9 p.m.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has one mission “To engage, teach and inspire through the power of rock and roll.” More than a collection of artifacts it is the sharing of stories about the people, events and songs that shape our world through the use of exhibits, innovative programs and concerts.