Of course, the major event happening in Rochester this weekend was the 2017 Rochester Music Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony. Now, to be completely honest, I thought it might be a bit hokey, but it's actually a pretty big deal. Held in Kodak Hall in the Eastman Theater (at the Eastman School of Music), the hall was sold out and Rochester's musical luminaries were in attendance.
The inductees were the late Lew Soloff (Blood, Sweat & Tears), Gary Lewis (Gary Lewis & The Playboys), local bluesman Joe Beard, composer Sam Adler, the late owner of legendary Rochester venue The Penny Arcade Greg Sullivan, and the late Rochester DJ Unkle Roger McCall.
I was fortunate to be able to avail myself of the dressing room for Gary Lewis & The Playboys (my buddy Mike is his guitarist), so I wasn't really going to have to worry about where to stash my stuff during the show.
The ceremony, and specifically the musical performances, was absolutely fantastic, and I feel honored and humbled that I was asked to shoot it.
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| Legendary Blood, Sweat & Tears vocalist David Clayton Thomas... |
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| Gary Lewis |
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| Lou Gramm congratulates Gary Lewis... |
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| A musical tribute to Unkle Roger McCall... |
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| Lana Sullivan, widow of Penny Arcade owner Greg Sullivan... |
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| Musical Director Jimmy Richmond... |
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| Local bluesman Joe Beard... |
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| Lou Gramm of Foreigner inducting Gary Lewis into the Hall of Fame... |
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| Guitarist Don Mancuso... |
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| I've known Mike since we were five. It's a rush to see him on such a stage and I couldn't be more proud of him... |
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| Paul Shaffer (Saturday Night Live, Late Night with David Letterman) on the Hammond B3... |
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| Paul Shaffer performs a version of Little Wing on the Steinway grand piano in tribute to Blood, Sweat & Tears trumpet player Lew Soloff. The song was requested by Soloff's two daughters... |
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| A musical tribute to Penny Arcade owner Greg Sullivan. Phil Naro, Mike Gladstone, Don Mancuso and Rob Smith... |
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| Composer Sam Adler accepting his induction... |
This was the first time I've ever photographed an event like this. It was a combination of concert, awards show and Broadway production. The people who put this thing together accepted a monumental task requiring Herculean efforts by all, and they pulled it off flawlessly...
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