Saturday’s (Nov. 14) 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction might set a new high-water mark for low attendance among A-list guests of honor. While the annual gathering celebrating the latest names to be etched on the wall at the Cleveland museum regularly features a few no-shows — due to lingering inter-band tensions, health and scheduling issues or, in some cases, contempt for the whole exercise — this year’s event looks like it will have empty seats for more than half the living honorees.
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Though the Hall of Fame has not officially confirmed who will, or won’t, be on hand, some acts have taken the initiative to confirm their absence in advance.
It’s no surprise that Oasis‘ Noel and Liam Gallagher seem unlikely to make the flight for their induction after making the ballot three years in a row given their past statements about the Rock Hall. While spokespeople for the Britpop legends have not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on their plans, singer Liam Gallagher has made it pretty clear in recent X comments that he’s staying put.
“It’s too far to be going for the night I got s–t to do it’s Christmas,” he wrote on Tuesday morning (Nov. 10) in response to a report that Oasis are not going to be in the house. In addition, guitarist/songwriter Noel Gallagher has booked his first solo gig since Oasis’ 2025 reunion tour with an appearance at Goldie’s EFG Jazz Festival in London, also on Saturday. Liam doubled-down on his no-show plans in a follow-up tweet on Tuesday in response to a fan who noted that “not many artists” show up to the affair, writing, “If it was in the UK I’d be there but for some reason it’s in LA and that’s miles.”
Also on Tuesday, Sade, said they will not make the trip. The elusive British act fronted by singer Sade Adu, confirmed the news in a post, writing, “Sorry we can’t be there in person to celebrate with the other artists. Please know that our absence takes nothing away from how much this recognition means to us.”
After landing in the Hall on their third try, Iron Maiden won’t be on hand due to a scheduling conflict with their Australian tour. The British heavy metal giants kicked off their run of Run For Your Lives world tour shows in Australia on Wednesday (Nov. 11) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre, with follow-up shows booked for Friday (Nov. 13) and Sunday (Nov. 15), making the nearly 8,000-mile trip an impossibility.
Plus, for the record, singer Bruce Dickinson referred to the RRHOF as an “utter and complete load of bollocks” in 2018, 13 years after the band first became eligible for induction.
British new wave legends Joy Division/New Order are getting a rare twofer induction, but given their years of conflict with former bassist and co-founder of both bands Peter Hook, a heart-warming onstage reunion is out of the question. Earlier this year, co-founder Stephen Morris and keyboardist Gillian Gilbert said the married couple would not be attending due to Morris’ health issues. I’ve got a bit of a health problem at the minute, which precludes leaving the country for any length of time,” Morris said in June, according to Vulture.
Hook, however, who left New Order acrimoniously in 2007 and sued the band in 2015 over business issues — settling the case out-of-court two years later — said earlier this year that he’ll definitely be there and was in talks with show producers about performing at the event. New Order did not respond to an earlier request for comment from Billboard.
As for which performer inductees are expected to be on hand, 75-year-old Genesis drummer/singer Phil Collins has said he is physically unable to perform at his solo induction on Saturday, but plans to attend. “They asked me if I would perform,” he told BBC Breakfast in May. “I said no. You’ve gotta be match fit to do something like that. You can’t just go onstage. You’re going to have to rehearse. And by that point, if you haven’t been singing, your voice is going to be shot, and that’s not going to be good. I’d rather not do it.” Collins has not played live since the last show on Genesis’ The Last Domino? tour in March 2022 due to a variety of injuries affecting his spine, hands and knees.
Another honoree expected to attend and take the stage is 70-year-old punk icon Billy Idol, who lives in Los Angeles and is still an active live performer. Similarly, some version of the nine-man hip-hop supergroup Wu-Tang Clan will be in the house. Leader RZA said in April that he expects a full complement of band members. “I don’t see nobody taking some type of boycott” he said of the group that also includes GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa and Cappadonna; original member Ol’ Dirty Bastard died in 2004 at age 35.
The other artist in this year’s performer category is late R&B legend Luther Vandross, who died in July 2005 at age 54 due to complications from a stroke. If past is prologue, Vandross is likely to be honored by proxies and perhaps in a musical tribute featuring artists and contemporaries inspired by his work.
A pair of acts on the early influencers induction list seem likely to appear, hip-hop pioneers Queen Latifah and MC Lyte, though the other three on the roster, salsa queen Celia Cruz, Nigerian funk jazz master Fela Kuti and Gram Parsons, will all be inducted posthumously.
This year’s skips are no surprise given the long list of major acts who’ve opted out of accepting the honor in person, a roster that includes Aretha Franklin (1997), Paul McCartney — who sat out the Beatles’ 1988 induction in the midst of financial disputes with his former bandmates — as well as Tina Turner (1991), the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia (1994), the Sex Pistols (2006), Van Halen (2007), Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose (2012) and Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler (2018), among others.
The 2026 RRHOF induction will tape at the Peacock Theater in L.A. on Saturday and air as a two-hour prime-time special on ABC on Dec. 8 and stream on Disney+ and Hulu the next day.
