Tue 7/21
Hand in hand with the bigger, more ambitious and star-studded second annual edition of the Alternative Press Music Awards, taking place this year at Quicken Loans Arena Wed 7/22 (and probably sold out by now), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is opening a special exhibit dedicated to the little ’80s Cleveland fanzine that became a major national music publication. I’s called Never Give Up: Alternative Press Magazine at 30.
Started by publisher Mike Shea in his bedroom when he was a teenager, Alternative Press evolved form covering ’80s college radio favorites to featuring breakout artists like Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson in the ’90s as well as the nascent EDM scene. Toward the end of that decade, it discovered emo and pop punk and jumped full force into covering that scene which it continues to do to this day. (Its awards show features some of the big names of the genres including Weezer, All Time Low, New Found Glory and Simple Plan, as well as metal and goth-style acts).
The Rock Hall exhibit will show how the magazine evolved from a homemade fanzine to the professional, influential publication it is today — still based in Cleveland with offices in the 78th Street Studios in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood.
The opening evening will feature an outdoor concert by New Politics and Vinyl Theatre. The latter is one of AP’s “100 Bands You Need to Know in 2015.” Admission to the exhibit that evening is $5.50.
1100 Rock and Roll Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44114