“Legends Live On: Inside the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with John Sykes”

Music’s biggest night is coming to Los Angeles. From Soundgarden and Outkast to Cyndi Lauper, The White Stripes, Joe Cocker, and Salt-N-Pepa, the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony celebrates the spirit of rock — in all its forms.
KFI's Heather Brooker sits down with John Sykes, President of iHeartMedia Entertainment Enterprises and Chair of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to talk about this year’s powerhouse class, the growing role of Los Angeles as a permanent home for the ceremony, and how the Hall is redefining what it means to be a rock legend in a new generation. From Doja Cat to Elton John, Olivia Rodrigo to Brandi Carlile, Sykes shares behind-the-scenes details on the collaborations, tributes, and surprises fans can expect from the Peacock Theater this Saturday night.

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to entertain me. I'm your host, Heatherbrooker. This is
a show where we cover all things entertainment, from SoCal
to the silver screen. The stage is set at LA
Lives Peacock Theater, where music icons and rising stars are
joining forces to celebrate the twenty twenty five Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. From Outcast and Soundgarden
to Cyndey Lauper and Joe Cocker, this class proves that

(00:22):
rock and roll isn't just a genre, It's a spirit
that evolves with every generation. Joining me is John Sike's
President of iHeartMedia Enterprises and Chair of the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, to talk about this year's
incredible lineup, why LA has become a cornerstone for the ceremony,
and how the Hall is keeping rock's legacy alive year round.

(00:44):
Hi John, how are you?

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Hi? Heather? Thanks for having me on today. Excited to
be here in California with our induction ceremony. I know
you the fourth time in forty years that we've been
in Los Angeles, which when I came and took over
the Hall of Fame a few years ago, I said
that I guaranteed that we would be back every three
years here to California and will rotate between New York, Cleveland,

(01:07):
and LA. And LA should be one of our home
home sites for the Hall of Fame because the great
music that's come out of northern and southern California is unmatched.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
I'm so glad that you brought that up, because a
lot of people think of LA as just a movie
and TV town, but there is so much rich history
here in the music industry. So what makes LA such
a natural home for the ceremony and how does it
sort of honor the city's deep musical roots.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Well, there's two reasons why it belongs in Los Angeles.
Number One, the music that's come out of Los Angeles.
Think of the Eagles, Jackson Brown over the years, of
the Warren Zevon, who's being inducted this year. Some of
the greatest artists in music that changed the game have
come from Los Angeles. And also, and not only, it's

(01:57):
not only film and television being in Los Angeles. Really
the most of the music business now is here. The
big labels, the big music publishers, the big promoters, Live
Nation AG they're all Los Angeles. So it's really I
decided coming in this should be a cornerstone the three
one of the the legs of the stool of where

(02:18):
our induction ceremony should take place. And a lot of
the artists also live here, so and that has really
made this Sue's induction ceremonies so incredible, because not only
the people being inducted, Heather, but you also have those
who are bothering them, Olivia Rodrigo, Doja Cat, Teddy Swims.
So the list goes on of the artists that aren't

(02:39):
being inducted, but they're coming to worship their heroes and
perform with them.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
Now, I love that list of artists that you mentioned there.
We also have Elton John, Brandy Carlisle, Janelle Monet. The
list goes on and on and really just bridges generations
and genres. I've always wondered, how do you approach pairing
today these artists with the icons that they're honoring during
the ceremony.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Well, you said something in your introduction today, Heather that
means a lot is that rock and roll is not
one sound, it's an attitude. It's that evolves with generations.
So when you see someone like Alva Rodrigo or or
or a Chapel Roone, a younger artist like Dojakat. They
grew up worshiping the music of these artists. So it's

(03:27):
constantly not only music today of the past, but these
artists today would not be here without those artists that
predated them. So it's a natural pairing that goes on.
And we sit and talk with the artists that are
being ducted and we ask them who they like to
perform with them or in some cases if they have passed,
like one Zevon Joe Cocker, we reach out to their

(03:48):
families who say, I would like Teddy Swims to perform,
or I would like to have I would like to
have a certain artist performed for them. And so what
happens is it's a very collaborative experience in process as
so we make sure that the right artists, young artists
are really paying tribute to their heroes.

Speaker 1 (04:06):
Okay, so without playing too much favorites here, who are
you most looking forward to see perform?

Speaker 2 (04:13):
As they say, they're all my children. You know, there
are a lot old. They're all they're a lot older
than I am, but I still look at them. That
just equals and they're so amazing in their own right.
I I grew up. I grew up because I'm uh jeez,
I grew up with all these artists and me is
when I when we started MTV. Cindy laper Was was

(04:34):
one of the artists that put has helped pus on
the map. But you go, I go down this list,
they're all great, I mean bad company. When I was
in college listen to them all the time, Joe Cocker
and I was in grade grade school. So and but
you go through and you know White Stripes that they
did the change music, and I mean Warren's Elon's coming.
The family is coming to honor the Warren to his past.

(04:56):
But David Letterman is going to induct Hi because Dave
was a big fan of his and he in. Dave's
flying m self out and he's going to them give
a wonderful speech talking about Warren's music and his impact
on him personally and music. And that's what this night
is really all about. It really is not just about
seeing a great concert. It's basically hearing the stories of

(05:18):
why these artists change music and their impact and they
and how they influenced each other. And actually, I think
We actually have some tickets of still available for the
show at the Peacock Theater. I think you should be
called the Microsoft Theater here on Access dot Com, but
you'll be one hundred feet away from the biggest heroes

(05:39):
of your life.

Speaker 1 (05:40):
Wow. I want to talk briefly about the Hall and
how it's expanding beyond just this big night. You guys
are working on documentaries, exhibits like the SNL fiftieth showcase,
plans for a virtual museum. Can you share a little
bit of your long term vision for how fans can
experience the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame all year long.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
Well, that's a great question because everyone knows that once
a year we have this big induction ceremony, which is
this year streaming live on Disney Plus, and then it
will go beyond ABC on New Year's Night, So there's
not New Year's New Year's Nights right after the Ryan
Seacrest big event. But it really is. It's something that

(06:23):
really should be in people's lives three hundred and sixty
five days a year, not just one night when we
do the induction. So we have this amazing museum in Cleveland, Ohio,
which just has in state of the art exhibits, and
if you can't make it to Cleveland, we have a
website now that's just been built. Well, you can click
on and see all the exhibits. You can also see
all the induction ceremonies from the past. We really want

(06:45):
to make the Hall of Fame ubiquitous. We want to
make it available to everyone everywhere, and they'll be pop
up They'll be pop up museums around the world that
we're built. We're working on. There'll be documentary series. Because
rock and roll really is the thread of our culture.
It really is. We all grew up. It was a
soundtrack of our lives, whether it was whether it was

(07:06):
some people Marvin Gay, some people the Beatles, some people JV,
some people Elton John. It's a universal form of music
that really is one thing in common. As you said earlier,
it has attitude and it moves culture.

Speaker 1 (07:20):
Well, I know music is a very special and very
important part of my own family's life. We always have
music playing in our home. My husband used to be
a radio DJ back in the day when we met actually,
and so music is such an important part of our lives.
And this sounds like it is going to be an
epic ceremony, but also really looking forward to so many

(07:40):
of the long term plans that you have as well. John,
Thank you so much. We're going to put information up
on our website where people can still get tickets, and
it sounds like it's going to be an amazing show.

Speaker 2 (07:52):
An amazing show, and we're so glad and so fortunate
to be here in Los Angeles.

Speaker 1 (07:57):
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony will happen
at the Peacock Theater Saturday night. Thanks for listening to entertainment.
You can listen anywhere, anytime on the iHeartRadio app.