Dave Matthews Band Fans Are Protesting the Group’s Exclusion from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Dave Matthews Band fans are not happy.
On Wednesday, the 2020 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class was announced, and while legends like Whitney Houston, the Notorious B.I.G and the Doobie Brothers are among this year’s list of inductees, Dave Matthews Band was noticeably absent.
The rock group’s exclusion from the list came as a surprise to fans, given that they dominated the official fan vote leaderboard with over a million votes. This marked the first time since the fan vote was established in 2013 that the top fan-voted artist was missing from the inductee list.
Pat Benatar, who came in second in the poll, was also excluded from the inductee list. The Doobie Brothers came in third.
Fans of DMB shared their anger over the snub on Twitter, even including the hashtags “#boycottrockhall” and “#robbed.”
“Not gonna watch it now but I imagine it’s gonna be terrible considering this weak induction list! The @rockhall really needs to either weight the fan vote or do away with it. DMB wins the vote by a mile and B.I.G. gets in??? #boycottrockhall,” one user wrote.
Not gonna watch it now but I imagine it's gonna be terrible considering this weak induction list! The @rockhall really needs to either weight the fan vote or do away with it. DMB wins the vote by a mile and B.I.G. gets in??? #boycottrockhall
— Kyle (@KyleinOHIO) January 15, 2020
“Me waking up this morning ready to celebrate DMB’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and finding out how badly they were #robbed,” another user tweeted.
A third wrote, “@davematthewsbnd has sold over a 100 million concert tickets. They’re a band that truly represents the foundation of rock n roll and it’s history. A little bit of Blues, Jazz, Folk, Funk & Rock fused together to create music deserving of a spot in #RockHall2020 #robbed #DMB2020.”
Me waking up this morning ready to celebrate DMB’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and finding out how badly they were #robbed pic.twitter.com/bOYHggNUl6
— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) January 15, 2020
@davematthewsbnd has sold over a 100 million concert tickets. They’re a band that truly represents the foundation of rock n roll and it’s history. A little bit of Blues, Jazz, Folk, Funk & Rock fused together to create music deserving of a spot in #RockHall2020 #robbed #DMB2020
— Shanny (@Shanny77735578) January 16, 2020
Dave Matthews Band is only behind The Beatles and U2 for most #1 albums in the history of music.
It’s ok @RockHall, we’ll wait.— Keith Ricci (@KeithRicci) January 15, 2020
Damnit, here's ANOTHER problem with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: You can't say the fans will have a say in who gets in and ignore that say when the time comes. Dave Matthews Band got the most fan votes and they STILL aren't in?
— Daryle Lamont Jenkins (@DLamontJenkins) January 15, 2020
@rockhall So the Dave Matthews band are not going to be put in the rock ‘n’ roll Hall of Fame this year what a joke and you put Notorious B.I.G don’t get me wrong I love his music But put him in the Hall of Fame in the next couple years. Dave Matthews band deserves it more pic.twitter.com/VR0SVmVByh
— Max Leibold (@RevTec1) January 15, 2020
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While DMB’s fans were less than pleased, the group was gracious in congratulating the nominees in a statement on their website.
“Congratulations to our fellow nominees that will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2020. We want to express gratitude for all of our amazing fans and their support. We reached over a million fan votes! Thank you!” they said.
Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and T.Rex also made the 2020 Hall of Fame cut and are included in the esteemed group.
The 35th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, presented by Klipsch Audio, will take place on May 2 at 8 p.m. in the Public Auditorium in Cleveland and will be broadcast live for the first time on HBO. SiriusXM’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Radio will also broadcast the ceremony with exclusive interviews.
Music critic, manager and record producer Jon Landau, along with entertainment executive Irving Azoff, will be presented with the Ahmet Ertegun Award, which honors songwriters, producers, disc jockeys, record executives, journalists and industry professionals who have made a major impact on rock and roll.