Sun 8/25 @ noon-4PM
Last summer, guitarist Ricky Byrd from Joan Jett’s band the Blackhearts headlined an event at the Rock and Rill Hall of Fame and Museum dedicated to addiction and recovery, a journey he’s taken. Since getting clean in 1987, he’s made a virtual second career of sharing his story in the hopes that others will be helped. In 2017, he release the album Clean Getaway, a collection of songs that deal with the process of addiction and recovery. It shares a name with his nonprofit organization Clean Getaway.
Now he’s bringing his Rock & Resilience event back to the Rock Hall Plaza where he’ll play some music and tell some stories, and be joined by other musicians as well. Guitars for Vets opens the program at noon, followed by the Angie Haze Project at 1pm and Cleveland reggae artist David Smeltz, who has shared and written about his own recovery story and launched his Clean House Project in the Buckeye neighborhood, with his band the Smeltztones at 2pm.
Then at 3pm, Byrd will take the stage for a songwriters circle, which will also feature Billy Joel drummer Liberty DeVitto, Go-Go’s bassist Kathy Valentine and producer/musician Genya Ravan, who produced, among other things, the Dead Boys’ debut album Young, Loud and Snotty. The foursome will play music and converse about their own experiences with addiction and recovery, and people will have the chance to meet and chat with the following the performance.
It’s free and open to all. Food and drinks will be available for purchase.
rockhall.com/rock-recovery-inductee-ricky-byrd
1100 Rock and Roll Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44114