Punk Label Hopeless Records Heads to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Hopeless Records will celebrate its 30th anniversary next month with an exhibit and performances at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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The punk label will head to Cleveland on the weekend of Aug. 24 and 25, with the first day featuring acoustic performances by Illuminati Hotties, Waterparks’ Awsten Knight, the Wonder Years’ Dan Campbell, and a special guest DJ set from Scene Queen. A Q&A panel hosted by Alt Press founder Mike Shea will also take place.

The performances are part of Hopeless Records’ traveling road show, which will also make stops at Los Angeles’ Valley Relics Museum in Los Angeles, as well as New York City and Las Vegas. Tickets can be found here.

“Last year when we were planning our anniversary, it was interesting, because we don’t like to put the spotlight on ourselves,” Hopeless’ founder, Louis Posen, tells Rolling Stone . “We’re a company who puts the spotlight on our artists. But we thought after 30 years, maybe we should take just a moment to step back and reflect on all the artists, all the staff, and the fans who have made this possible.”

“This stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is extra special for us, and I didn’t think it was going to happen,” he added. “We cold called Greg [Harris], the President of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and told him about our traveling exhibit, and we expected him to say, ‘Who’s Hopeless Records? Absolutely not.’ We were shocked that he said [yes]. That such a revered institution is now spotlighting the independent music community and alternative punk music …I think that’s a huge moment.”

In a statement, Harris tells Rolling Stone , “We are excited to celebrate this impactful, stand-out, independent label. For 30 years, Hopeless has been a trailblazer in punk and pop-punk, and it’s awesome to honor that genre and its fans with this celebration/exhibit.”

Two separate exhibits will arrive at the museum, one traveling and one stationary. The former features over 1,000 artifacts, including a letter from Leonard Bernstein’s estate praising 1995’s Punk Side Story (their cover of the West Side Story soundtrack). The stationary features original zines from the Nineties, the shirt from the cover of Illuminati Hotties’ Power , a bass guitar from Avenged Sevenfold, Knight’s hoodie, lyrics from the Wonder Years’ The Greatest Generation , and other items from label acts like Thrice, the Used, and Sum 41.

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The label’s first-ever release, Guttermouth’s 1993 EP 11 oz , will also be on display. “I went and bought a book called How to Run an Independent Record Label ,” laughs Posen. “I got $1,000 from my brother and his friend, no business plan, and put that seven-inch out with the first song titled ‘Hopeless.’ I never could have imagined this.”

In an interview with Rolling Stone , Illuminati Hotties’ Sarah Tudzin said, “Hopeless has been making waves in music for 30 years. This is an anniversary celebration, and they have such a rich history of bands that they’ve broken and that they’ve even discovered before the bands went on to do the next level. It’s really cool to be a part of that. It’s one of those things where it’s like, if you tell your grandma you’re going to play [at] the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, that all makes sense to her.”

“It’s a big moment in our community,” Posen adds. “I expected to be at the Punk Rock Museum and the Valley Relics Museum, but I think [the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame] shows that the world is recognizing that independent music and alternative and punk communities are meaningful. The mainstream world is waking up.”

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