The Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 in Joliet will hold its first induction ceremony on Aug. 31 at the city’s Rialto Square Theatre after it was postponed from March 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The announcement about the ceremony was made Friday on WJOL radio:
“Last year’s debut event was postponed due to the COVID pandemic,” said Ron Romero, the museum’s Chairman of the Board. “We are excited to announce the rescheduled date on this historic event. And with that announcement comes some exciting updates to what we originally had planned for the event including additional performances and the event is going to be held at the beautiful Rialto Square Theatre in downtown Joliet!”
The museum’s first inductees, initially announced in February 2020, include REO Speedwagon, Buddy Guy, Chicago, Muddy Waters, The Buckinghams, Cheap Trick, WLS-AM and radio DJs Dick Biondi and Larry Lujack.
Among those scheduled to perform at the ceremony are REO Speedwagon, Ides of March, Jimy Sohns of the Shadows of Knight, the Millennials and video appearances from Chicago, with more to be announced later.
The ceremony will be from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Rialto Square Theatre, 102 N. Chicago St. (aka Route 66) in Joliet. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Ticket prices are $53.50, $43.50 and $33.50 per person through the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum website or the Rialto Square website. It will be one of the first major public performance events at the Rialto since last year.
The museum resides in a 1920s three-story building at 9 W. Cass St. in downtown Joliet, between the northbound and southbound lanes of Illinois 53, aka Route 66. The Joliet City Council last year gave the building landmark status due to its historic nature.
The Rubens brothers opened the $2 million theater on May 24, 1926 — a few months before U.S. 66 became federally certified. The Rialto also sits just a block away from the Lincoln Highway. The Rialto underwent a major restoration during the 1980s.
(Image of Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet, Illinois, via Facebook)