Celebrating the musicians, builders, and visionaries who made Upstate New York a force in American music.
89 Inductees Across 7 Regions
From Buffalo’s funk and punk scenes to Rochester’s Eastman School pipeline, from the Woodstock creative commune to Albany’s underground, Upstate New York has shaped American music in profound and often underrecognized ways.
No Upstate city rivals Buffalo for sheer musical breadth. Rick James defined funk from the East Side. Ani DiFranco built the DIY independent label movement from her Buffalo apartment. The Goo Goo Dolls gave the world "Iris." Cannibal Corpse became the best-selling death metal band of all time. Grover Washington Jr. invented smooth jazz. Griselda put Buffalo back on the national hip-hop map. And Harold Arlen — the man who wrote "Over the Rainbow" — was a Buffalo native.
The Eastman School of Music is the single most important institutional pipeline for Upstate NY music talent. It trained Chuck Mangione, Steve Gadd, Ron Carter, Mick Guzauski, Mitch Miller, Angelo Badalamenti, and Maria Schneider. Lou Gramm of Foreigner grew up in Rochester. Cab Calloway was born there. Son House was rediscovered there in 1964.
When Albert Grossman moved to Woodstock in the 1960s and built Bearsville Studios, he created an ecosystem that attracted Bob Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison, Todd Rundgren, and dozens of jazz legends. Levon Helm hosted the Midnight Ramble concerts from his barn. Alan Gerry saved the Woodstock festival site by building Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.
Jimmy Van Heusen — who wrote "Come Fly with Me" for Sinatra — was born in Syracuse. Ronnie James Dio grew up in nearby Cortland. Joey Belladonna of Anthrax hails from Oswego. Earth Crisis pioneered metalcore. Joe Bonamassa, the world's top-grossing blues artist, opened for B.B. King at age 12 in Utica.
Phantogram, State Champs, Drug Church, Maria Brink of In This Moment, MacArthur Fellow Vijay Iyer, and Voice winner Sawyer Fredericks all have roots here. Greg Haymes built the scene by writing about it for 30 years. Greg Bell booked 3,000 shows. Brooks Brown built WEQX into the last independent alternative radio station in America.
10,000 Maniacs formed in Jamestown. X Ambassadors came out of Ithaca. Orleans gave us "Still the One." Gym Class Heroes launched from Geneva. And the GrassRoots Festival in Trumansburg has been bringing communities together through music since 1991.
8 inductees matching your filters
Buffalo
Buffalo-born Brian McKnight is one of R&B's most consistent voices, earning 16 Grammy nominations across a career spanning three decades. A multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, he...
View Profile →Pawling (Hudson Valley)
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Daryl Hall chose to build an intimate restaurant and music club in Pawling, a small Dutchess County town. Daryl's...
View Profile →Buffalo
Buffalo's Goo Goo Dolls are one of the biggest rock bands of the late 1990s. "Iris" spent nearly 12 months on the Billboard Hot 100...
View Profile →Lake Placid (raised)
Global pop icon Lana Del Rey was raised in Lake Placid, high in the Adirondacks. Though born in Manhattan, her formative years in Upstate New...
View Profile →Rochester
Rochester native and Eastman-trained oboist Mitch Miller became the head of A&R at Columbia Records, shaping 1950s-60s American pop music. His TV show Sing Along...
View Profile →Ithaca
With deep Ithaca roots, Orleans gave the world "Dance with Me" and "Still the One" — two of the most beloved AM radio staples of...
View Profile →Syracuse (born)
Born in Syracuse, Post Malone became one of the biggest-selling artists of the streaming era with diamond-certified hits like "Circles" and "Rockstar." Though raised primarily...
View Profile →Woodstock
Todd Rundgren lived in Woodstock for decades, recording his landmark solo albums and producing classic records at Bearsville Studios — including Meat Loaf's Bat Out...
View Profile →The Upstate Music Hall of Fame is a living project. If you know of a musician, producer, promoter, or music industry figure from Upstate New York who should be recognized here, we want to hear from you.