NEW YORK, NY.- This November, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ANNEX NYC will open its doors for the first time. The highly anticipated ANNEX will take visitors beyond the typical museum experience in a dynamic and immersive journey that recalls some of the most defining moments in rock and roll history. When the ANNEX opens on November 24th, visitors will journey through multiple galleries to discover the moments ignited by hundreds of music revolutionaries like John Lennon, Madonna, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan. Additionally, The ANNEX will open its first special exhibit in true punk rock style, honoring the Clash. The Clash exhibit, which debuted at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, OH in 2006 will now appear at the ANNEX for a limited run.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ANNEX NYC will be an experiential, technologically advanced exhibition that focuses on the greatest moments in rock history and will resonate with everyone from the casual music fan to the seasoned rock enthusiast. The ANNEX will also showcase selected items from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s vast collection, including Bruce Springsteen’s 1957 Chevy, John Lennon’s Record Plant Piano, Elvis Presley’s motorcycle jacket, a handwritten poem by Jim Morrison and much more. The exhibits, including the Roots & Influences, Moments to Movements and New York Rocks rooms, will highlight rock and roll’s impact on music, allowing visitors to discover, or rediscover, their connection to it all.

As the first of its rotating featured exhibits, The ANNEX will open its doors with an exhibit dedicated to the Clash, entitled Revolution Rock: The Story of the Clash. This exhibit will allow visitors to get an in-depth look into how the band’s politicized lyrics, musical experimentation, and rebellious attitude have helped shape rock history. As rebels with a cause, The Clash took the manic anger of British punk and transformed it into a political and aesthetic agenda. Album after album, as they railed against the status quo of corporate rock and safe middle-class values, The Clash was a burning reminder of why punk mattered.

Today the band is regarded as one of the most explosive bands to come out of the fertile late-1970’s London scene. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 by Tom Morello and U2’s The Edge, the Clash is one of the most influential bands of its time. The exhibit will examine the music and lives of the band with artifacts including well-known instruments, stage clothing, rare posters, set-lists and original manuscripts. Highlights include Joe Strummer’s Fender Telecaster and Mick Jones’ Gibson Les Paul Jr. guitars and handwritten lyrics for “London Calling,” “Know Your Rights” and “Clampdown.”

Visitors to The ANNEX will receive headphones connected to a state-of-the-art wireless audio system so that when they visit different exhibits, they hear relevant music specific to the gallery they are in. The galleries include:

• Hall of Fame, which pays tribute to the artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a signature display of each;
• Theater, an engaging and dynamic movie experience that uses immersive audio and visual technology to highlight some of the most explosive performance moments in rock history including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, The Who and Patti Smith;
• Roots & Influences, a visual and musical exhibition on how past music legends have influenced the chart-toppers at the forefront of today’s music scene, bringing to life musical timelines of genres such as R&B, Hip Hop and Blues Rock;
• Moments to Movements, which will highlight particular musical moments that created and defined powerful movements, and showcase many exciting and rare rock items, including a white Vox electric guitar from The Beatles that has never been showcased elsewhere, the necklace Jimi Hendrix wore at Monterey Pop Festival, and the handwritten lyrics to ‘U.S. Blues’ by the Grateful Dead;
• New York Rocks, which will include an oversized interactive map to highlight key locations around New York City that have musical significance, including CBGB’s, Studio 54 and The Chelsea Hotel, and will showcase items such as the notebook in which Billy Joel wrote all the lyrics for “The Stranger” album;
• Cleveland Gallery, which will include special exhibits and displays that give visitors a taste of the larger experience at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland; and,
• Special Rotating Exhibit, which will feature one select artist or band, with special attention to their time spent in New York City, rotating every six to nine months.