St. Louis's classic rock history gets its moment on stage next week as the 14th annual Imperial Awards move to the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center on Friday, Nov. 20, at 7:00 p.m. The ceremony, formerly known as the St. Louis Classic Rock Preservation Society Hall of Fame Induction, will honor a class of musicians, broadcasters and local institutions with live performances and tributes woven throughout the night.
The rebrand to the Imperial Awards name comes as the group marks its 14th year of honoring, as organizers put it, “the musicians, bands, personalities, and institutions” that shaped the region's music scene, according to a MetroTix event listing. As KSDK reports, this year's event will honor nine influential figures tied to St. Louis's music legacy. The show takes place in the Ross Family Theatre at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, located at 210 E. Monroe Ave., per the same listing.
Who's Being Inducted This Year
The 2026 class spans genres and generations. Singer Fontella Bass, the vocal group The Guild and A Full Moon Consort, DJs Spider Burks and Al Hofer, KSHE traffic reporter Tony “Thumbs” Roldan, the late journalist Ray Hartmann, John Beck and the St. Louis record label Musicland USA Records are all set to be enshrined, according to Webster-Kirkwood Times. The induction process itself runs largely on community input, with a podcast description noting it relies on “mostly public nominations and votes — so you have a say,” per Saint Louis In Tune.
The night's house band will be the Aardvarks, who are also billed for a set of live performances with Aardvarks & Friends and special guests, alongside tributes to St. Louis's broader music and entertainment history, per the same MetroTix listing. The evening will also carry a somber note: a special tribute is planned for Pavlov's Dog guitarist and singer David Surkamp, who died Oct. 13, the Webster-Kirkwood Times report notes.
Proceeds Will Support Central VPA High School
All profits from this year's Imperial Awards will go toward Central Visual & Performing Arts High School, according to the MetroTix listing. Tickets range from $35 to $65 and can be purchased through kpac.org, MetroTix or the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center box office, per the Webster-Kirkwood Times report.
The Imperial Awards follow a tradition the St. Louis Classic Rock Preservation Society has built over more than a decade. Just last December, the nonprofit inducted 12 new honorees into its Hall of Fame, according to a report from stlouisdad.com. The organization describes its mission as working to “preserve, promote and honor St. Louis' unique classic rock heritage and its place in music and pop culture history,” the outlet reports, and it operates as a 501(c)(3) charity that hosts multiple fundraising events each year for local causes.
