Celebrating the musicians, builders, and visionaries who made Upstate New York a force in American music.
82 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.
36 inductees matching your filters
Jamestown
Jamestown's 10,000 Maniacs pioneered the alternative rock movement in the 1980s. Their MTV Unplugged appearance was a landmark moment, and they helped define the college...
View Profile →Rochester (Eastman School)
Eastman School alumnus Angelo Badalamenti became one of Hollywood's most distinctive film composers. His iconic score for David Lynch's Twin Peaks is among the most...
View Profile →Buffalo
Buffalo-born Ani DiFranco founded Righteous Babe Records at age 18 and released 20+ albums independently, becoming a cultural icon of the DIY music movement. Grammy...
View Profile →Buffalo
Artie Kwitchoff managed the Goo Goo Dolls to multi-platinum success and co-restored Buffalo's historic Town Ballroom in 2005. A central figure in Buffalo's modern live...
View Profile →Buffalo
Legendary rock bass virtuoso from Buffalo. Billy Sheehan played with David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, and The Winery Dogs, influencing a generation of rock bassists...
View Profile →Rochester
Born and raised in Rochester, Brann Dailor is the co-vocalist and incredibly technical drummer for Mastodon — one of the biggest and most critically acclaimed...
View Profile →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 →Rochester (born)
Born in Rochester in 1907, Cab Calloway became one of the most famous entertainers of the swing era. His "Minnie the Moocher" and the "hi-de-ho"...
View Profile →Buffalo
The best-selling death metal band of all time, Cannibal Corpse formed in Buffalo in 1988. With over 15 studio albums, they defined extreme metal for...
View Profile →Rochester
Rochester-born Chuck Mangione was a jazz crossover star whose "Feels So Good" became one of the biggest jazz-pop hits of the 1970s. An Eastman School...
View Profile →Rochester
With five Grammy wins including Classical Producer of the Year (twice), Rochester native Elaine Lee Martone is one of the most awarded classical music producers...
View Profile →Buffalo
One of the most beloved and influential hardcore/metalcore bands of the 2000s-2020s. Formed by the Buckley brothers in Buffalo, Every Time I Die became synonymous...
View Profile →Rochester
Rochester-born Lou Gramm was the iconic lead vocalist and co-writer for Foreigner, one of the best-selling rock bands of all time with over 80 million...
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 →Buffalo
Buffalo rap collective Griselda — Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, and Benny the Butcher — revitalized East Coast underground hip-hop and put Buffalo on the...
View Profile →Buffalo
Born in Buffalo, Grover Washington Jr. is arguably the father of smooth jazz. His album Winelight is one of the best-selling jazz albums in history,...
View Profile →Buffalo
Buffalo-born Harold Arlen composed over 500 songs including "Over the Rainbow," "Stormy Weather," and "Get Happy." He is considered one of the greatest American songwriters...
View Profile →Rochester
Howard Hanson built the Eastman School of Music into one of the world's premier music institutions during his 40-year tenure as director. He premiered over...
View Profile →Rochester
Modern indie rock/synth-pop band formed in Rochester in 2010. Joywave's infectious hooks and electronic-tinged sound have earned them a growing national following and major festival...
View Profile →Rochester (born)
Born in Rochester, Kim Gordon co-founded Sonic Youth — one of the most important alternative rock bands ever. As bassist, vocalist, and visual artist, she...
View Profile →Buffalo
Leonard Silver founded Amherst Records in Buffalo in 1957 and built it into a nationally distributed label releasing jazz, big band, country, and pop. Artists...
View Profile →Rochester (Eastman School)
Grammy-winning jazz composer and bandleader Maria Schneider attended the Eastman School of Music. She pioneered direct-to-fan album distribution via ArtistShare and leads one of the...
View Profile →Buffalo area
Critically acclaimed experimental rock band from the Buffalo area. Mercury Rev's Deserter's Songs is considered one of the great albums of the 1990s and their...
View Profile →Rochester
Rochester native Mick Guzauski is one of the most decorated mixing engineers in Grammy history. His work on Daft Punk's Random Access Memories alone earned...
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 →Buffalo / Utica / Albany
One of the most enduring jam bands in the Northeast, moe. formed at the University at Buffalo and built a massive following across the Upstate...
View Profile →Jamestown
From Jamestown, NY, Natalie Merchant was the voice of 10,000 Maniacs and one of the most prominent figures in 1990s alternative rock. Her solo career...
View Profile →Buffalo
Buffalo-born Rick James was a funk pioneer whose "Super Freak" became one of the most recognizable songs in music history. Born and raised on the...
View Profile →Buffalo
Goo Goo Dolls bassist Robby Takac reinvested his success directly into Buffalo's music infrastructure — founding Good Charamel Records and opening GCR Audio, a world-class...
View Profile →Rochester (Eastman School)
The most recorded bassist in jazz history with over 2,200 sessions. Ron Carter attended the Eastman School of Music and played in the Miles Davis...
View Profile →Buffalo
Buffalo's Snapcase pioneered a noise rock/metalcore hybrid that shaped the late-1990s hardcore scene. Their technical approach and aggressive sound influenced countless heavy bands that followed.
View Profile →Rochester (adopted)
One of the most important Delta blues musicians ever and a direct influence on Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. Son House spent over 20 years...
View Profile →Buffalo
One of the most commercially successful jazz fusion groups ever, Spyro Gyra formed in Buffalo's club scene in the 1970s. They sold 10 million albums,...
View Profile →Rochester (Irondequoit)
Born in Rochester and trained at the Eastman School of Music, Steve Gadd is widely considered one of the greatest session drummers in music history....
View Profile →Hamburg (near Buffalo)
Three-time Grammy winner Tom Hambridge grew up in the Buffalo suburbs and became one of the most awarded blues producers working today. Now Nashville-based, his...
View Profile →Rochester
Born in Rochester, Wendy O. Williams was the controversial and theatrical lead singer of The Plasmatics. Her boundary-pushing punk performances and fearless stage presence made...
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.