August 24, 2024 - The Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame hosted an event for the anniversary of Hopeless Records. This was something you DID NOT want to miss! But if you did, the inside scoop is ready for your reading pleasure!
Left to right: Louis Posen, Greg Harris
Rock Hall CEO, Greg Harris, and Hopeless Records founder, Louis Posen, opened up the event. They showed the crowd a different perspective of professionalism when it comes to record labels.
Both Harris and Posen shared moving speeches. Posen shared his personal experiences with the crowd, making everyone feel comfortable. You could feel the raw emotion flow through the crowd, with some words bringing fans to tears. It was truly a beautiful way to start the evening.
Lewis then turned the mic over to Dan Campbell, lead singer of The Wonder Years.
Campbell continued the evening with songs from The Wonder Years and Aaron West. Not only did he put on an incredible performance, he also shared personal stories. Campbell went on to tell us how he grew his band, with Hopeless by their side every step of the way. After hearing Campbell’s stories, it’s clear to see that Hopeless Records truly cares about the bands they sign.
Knight started his acoustic set with ‘Crying Over It All.” Before today, this song was only performed once during a previous tour. He continued to perform fan favorites like "Stupid For You" and "Dream Boy," just to name a few. In addition to some fan favorites, he also gave us a taste of their latest demo "Call Me Beep Me." We are hoping to see this song on streaming platforms soon.
After his performance, Knight made sure to meet as many fans as he could. The crowd swarmed around him pretty quickly. He came out shortly after Illuminate Hotties set to make sure everyone had a fair chance to meet him.
The third band to take the stage, Illuminati Hotties. An indie rock band from Los Angeles, California. Unlike the first two performs, Illuminati Hotties didn't put on an acoustic set. Sarah Tudzin and her band mates had the crowd jumping and screaming out lyrics. This band has an energy that you can just feel as soon as they start playing. They played fan favorites like “Can’t Be Still” and “Power."
The concert portion of the night ended with Scene Queen. She may have had a ruptured eardrum, but that didn’t stop her from putting on a killer DJ set!
She may not have necessarily performed her own songs, but it didn’t stop the crowd from being excited! Scene Queen played some of her hits, including “Barbie & Ken” and “18+." In addition to these hits, she also played some classics that we all know and love. These songs include, Dirty Little Secret and Stacy’s Mom.
The Hopeless Records event ended with a Q&A panel. The panel consisted of Mike Shay (founder of Alternative Press Magazine), lan Harrison (executive Vice President of Hopeless Records), Eric Tobin (executive Vice President of Hopeless Records), Sarah Tudzin (Illuminati Hotties), Awsten Knight (Waterparks).
This brief Q&A introduced fans to the history of Alternative Press and Hopeless Records. They talked about how important fan involvement really is. Harrison and Tobin spoke about adapting to streaming platforms when they were first introduced. They went on to commend the platforms for helping bands grow.
“…there wouldn’t be artists like Waterparks and like Hotties right now, who can do what they want to do, reach an audience as big as they can reach…” - Mike Shay
I ended the night with a tour of the Rock Hall museum. They had a very special pop up for this weekend only! The pop up showed us the history of Hopeless Records. There was so much memorabilia from throughout the years, from 1993-2024! They even had Awsten’s guitar from the Fandom era in 2019! The following gallery includes pictures of the guitar, as well as other treasures!
The museum also has Awsten Knight’s hoodie on display. The hoodie is on display year round! So stop by the Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame to check it out!
Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame
1100 E 9th St, Cleveland, OH 44114
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