The ROCKGODZ HALL OF FAME Inducts the Class of 2026 at The Space!

The 2026 ROCKGODZ HALL OF FAME AWARDS took place on Saturday, November 7 at The Space.

Starting with a ceremony way back in 2014, the ROCKGODZ HALL OF FAME organization has done a fantastic job nominating and showing respect to many people in the music business who may have been ignored by other institutions, including (but certainly not limited to) the Grammys and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For just over a decade, they’ve been inducting industry personnel not simply limited to musicians. The existence of an organization like this is essential, and I always look forward to their events, whenever they may take place. Cindy Landeen and her crew of true music lovers (all of whom are volunteers) continue to pay homage to those who deserve it in the rock world. A big shout out as well to Kevin “Dugie” Dugan, probably best known for being Michael Anthony’s bass tech for over 40 years, who helped to keep the technical side of things running smoothly.

The ROCKGODZ HALL OF FAME events have taken place in numerous venues over the past several years. The first two, in 2014 and 2015, took place at Count’s Vamp’d (a venue we sadly lost last year). The 2016 event was at the Hard Rock Cafe on the Las Vegas Strip. Many subsequent events have been out of the Vegas Valley, including the 2017 event taking place at the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood, right on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame (a show I actually did travel out of town to attend!) I missed many of the other shows due to their being out of state, but the ceremonies thankfully returned to Sin City last year with an event taking place at the Las Vegas Guitar Trade Show at the Silverton Hotel and Casino. Many fantastic musicians and media personalities have gone into the ROCKGODZ HALL OF FAME since its conception, including local, national, and international talent alike, from musicians to journalists, from photographers to even pyrotechnic specialists!

The latest ROCKGODZ HALL OF FAME event took place at The Space, which is one of my personal favorite venues in Las Vegas, albeit one that’s often used for activity other than rock shows. That said, whenever a rock/metal show takes place here, it’s always a great time, with a fantastic, intimate environment that does justice to an event of any kind. In this case, the central “showroom” was filled with tables and chairs (it’s often a standing room only affair) but in this case, for an awards show, it seemed the best way to go.

Before long, the event was underway. ROCKGODZ HALL OF FAME events typically follow the structure of presenters presenting awards, video clips of those being honored, and a “house band” with special guests performing throughout the evening. I personally love this structure; these clip shows of sorts can be a great introduction to the people being honored, and in some cases can even reveal things you didn’t know about the artists in question. Unsurprisingly, many of the inductees this year were musicians, including Angel vocalist Frank DiMino, Bones vocalist/guitarist Patrick Vitagliano, and former Yngwie Malmsteen vocalist Mark Boals, but the organization again thought outside the box and honored several non-musicians who were worthy, including iconic THAT METAL SHOW host Eddie Trunk, and local Vegas radio personality Lark Williams. From local bluesmen to pyrotechnic experts, the show held nothing back when it comes to paying homage to those worthy folks who may be overlooked by other organizations. Dead Boys member Cheetah Chrome, who sadly passed away earlier this year, was inducted posthumously. Publicity materials for the event stated that Flavor Flav of Public Enemy fame would be inducted, however he was nowhere to be seen at the show, nor was he even mentioned, which was a bit surprising.

Unsurprisingly, the musical performances were some of the best moments of the night, including Frank DiMino performing the Angel classic “Don’t Leave Me Lovely” (and I saw Eddie Trunk a few tables down from me singing every single word of it!), and Mark Boals performing one of his best-known tunes from his stint with Yngwie Malmsteen, “You Don’t Remember, I’ll Never Forget.” We even got, at the closing of the evening, a rendition of Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) with Patrick Vitagliano on vocals and guitar, plus a “sing along” segment with audience participation paying tribute to Tommy Rocker, who despite being confined to a wheelchair, was in attendance and did get to spend some time on stage. There were even custom guitars auctioned off featuring the autographs of the inductees.

I only have two minor complaints with the otherwise excellent evening:

Firstly, the “Red Carpet” felt like an afterthought. One of my favorite things about past ROCKGODZ HALL OF FAME events (including the one I attended in Hollywood in 2017) were the red carpets, where everyone was united, with plenty of photographers and talent in one place. There was a red carpet area set up, but sadly the evening lacked any sort of formal official red carpet moment.

The other minor issue was the pacing. While I loved seeing everyone here get their just dues and respect, some of the speeches and tribute videos were longer than they needed to be (although it was justified in more than a few cases). This event was advertised as doors opening at 7:00 PM, and then running from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM, however the actual event didn’t end until nearly 11:00 PM. I certainly didn’t mind spending extra time with these inductees, but was a bit surprised to see how “over time” the evening went.

This was another fantastic evening inducting several talented performers and other talented individuals; it’s great to finally see the ROCKGODZ HALL OF FAME ceremonies back where bey belong in Las Vegas. Let’s hope we’ll be getting another worthy class of inductees sooner than later; no one does it better when it comes to respecting those the Grammys and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have not. Pay attention to this organization and what they’re doing; they deserve your respect if you’re a rock fan. Here’s looking forward to the class of 2027!