CLEVELAND, Ohio — When Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation Chairman John Sykes said that he was glad to see the 2025 induction ceremony was “back in Southern California—where it belongs,” you could hear an entire city groan three time zones away.

“As I sat in the Peacock Theater next to a Los Angeles-based journalist, I wondered aloud why the 7,100-seat Peacock Theatre wasn’t packed. The entire row in front of us and half the one behind us was empty,” said Malcolm X Abram, cleveland.com’s music writer.

Abram said Sykes answered that he didn’t think many people knew they could attend.

“Not that many people know this is happening” was the quote. So, when Abram told him the last Cleveland ceremony was sold out, he was genuinely surprised.

Abram has been to several ceremonies across th

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