Fred Schneider of The B-52s has some pointed thoughts about the band’s continued absence from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The band’s singer opened up on the subject in a recent interview with Vulture, during which he revealed how he and his long-time partners in the group, Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson, really feel about not being represented in the Rock Hall.
“I don’t care anymore,” Schneider lamented. “We should have been in 20 years ago because if it’s about influencing other bands, I can’t tell you how many bands said they were influenced by us. I know Kate is really champing at the bit to get in, but I don’t care,” he added. “It just doesn’t make any sense that we’re not in. Other bands have gotten in who aren’t even rock and roll. I could care less about being in there with John Cougar Mellencamp.”
In the Vulture piece, it was pointed out that when asked about The B-52s absence from the Rock Hall, former chairman John Sykes revealed that the band’s name had “come up in the room,” but never received enough support from the committee for a nomination.
The closest the B-52s have come to the Rock Hall so far dates back to 1995, when Schneider and Pierson inducted Martha and the Vandellas during the annual ceremony.
Currently, Schneider and company are focused on the “Cosmic De-Evolution Tour,” a co-headlining run of shows with fellow oft-misunderstood contemporaries, DEVO. Kicking off this week in Toronto, Canada, the tour has stops in Wantagh, NJ, Los Angeles, CA, and Charlotte, NC, before wrapping up in Austin, TX, on November 2nd. See the itinerary below, and get tickets here.
DEVO and The B-52s 2025 Tour Dates:
10/02 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
10/04 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
10/05 – Wantagh, NJ @ Jones Beach Theater
10/16 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheater
10/18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
10/19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
10/24 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
10/25 – Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
11/01 – Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater
11/02 – The Woodlands, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
