- PHOTO BY DANIEL J. KUSHNER
- The RMHF Class of 2024 includes producer Scott Mayo, salsa music icon Johnny Vega, Broadway star Jennifer Cody, and John Ellison of Soul Brothers Six.
The 2024 class is musically eclectic and influential:
- John Ellison of Soul Brothers Six
- Broadway star Jennifer Cody
- Producer Scott Mayo
- Salsa musician Johnny Vega
- Jars of Clay members Charlie Lowell and Matt Odmark
- Social media creator and producer Rick Beato
- PHOTO BY DANIEL J. KUSHNER
- Jack Whittier, president of Rochester Music Hall of Fame's board of directors, speaks ahead of the Class of 2024 announcement on March 4.
As the frontman of Rochester group Soul Brothers Six, John Ellison wrote the hit “Some Kind of Wonderful,” which was later recorded by such artists as Grand Funk Railroad, Rod Stewart, and Huey Lewis & The News, reaching as high as No. 3 on the Billboard charts. The enduring song has been performed more than 4 million times in its varied history.
Puerto Rican-born singer-songwriter (and now Rochester resident) Johnny Vega was influential in his use of brass instrumentation and vocal harmonies in salsa and worked with such Latin music stars as Celia Cruz and Frankie Ruiz.
Singer, dancer, and actor Jennifer Cody is a Greece native whose Broadway credits include productions of “Cats,” “Grease,” and “Seussical.”
Rochester native Scott Mayo has an impressive musical resume; the Grammy-nominated producer, composer, and arranger has collaborated with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Lizzo, and Bruce Springsteen.
Keyboardist Charlie Lowell and guitarist Matt Odmark grew up together in Rochester and graduated from McQuaid Jesuit High School. As members of the Christian rock band Jars of Clay, they enjoyed crossover success when the song “Flood” reached the Billboard Hot 100. The band won numerous Grammys, BMI awards, and GMA Dove awards over its career spanning more than three decades.
Perhaps the most intriguing inductee of the Rochester Music Hall of Fame’s 2024 class is Rick Beato, a Fairport native and Ithaca College graduate who went on to become successful producer and songwriter before his breakout turn as a YouTube sensation; His Everything Music channel boasts nearly four million subscribers.
Well-versed in classical music, rock, and jazz, Beato produces insightful analysis of pop music from the 1960s to the TikTok era and interviews living legends for an avid online audience.
- PHOTO BY DANIEL J. KUSHNER
- Jim Richmond, board member and music director of RMHF, announces the Class of 2024 — including Matt Odmark and Charlie Lowell of Jars of Clay and YouTube creator Rick Beato.
“One of the neat things about our event every year, because we have such a wide array of music performed in one night," said Whittier, "is most people will go there and hear something that they've never listened to."
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Will Hollis, Brother Wease and Fred Costello among this year's honorees.
Across the Universe
The inaugural Ned Corman Educators Award will be given to two local music teachers: Bill Tiberio of Fairport High School, Eastman Community Music School and Ithaca College; and posthumously to the late Johnny Cummings, who led the Monroe County Parks Band and taught at numerous schools in the region.
Tickets for the event, which takes place at 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 5 in Eastman Theatre’s Kodak Hall, are on sale now. rochestermusic.org
Daniel J. Kushner is an arts writer at CITY. He can be reached at [email protected].