The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has opened “Women In Metal: You Will Know My Name”, an exhibit devoted to the women who built and continue to define heavy music — and HALESTORM has now shared video of the full speech Lzzy Hale delivered at the July 10 opening in Cleveland.
Curated by Rock Hall assistant curator Haley Cronin, the exhibit gathers artifacts spanning several decades and a wide spread of subgenres. Among the artists represented are Lita Ford, Alissa White-Gluz of ARCH ENEMY and DRAGONFORCE, Courtney LaPlante of SPIRITBOX, Taylor Momsen of THE PRETTY RECKLESS and Hale herself — a lineup that deliberately runs from the late-1970s hard rock and metal underground through to bands currently headlining arenas.
Hale, who was accompanied by HALESTORM guitarist Joe Hottinger performing an acoustic set, framed the exhibit as recognition long withheld. She described it as a celebration of “the stories of singers who refuse to soften their voices, guitar players who refuse to stand in the background” — a line that lands with some force in a genre where women were routinely positioned as novelty acts well into the 2000s.
Much of her address was aimed directly at the next generation. “Take up space, make noise, write the song, start the band,” she urged, telling young musicians in the room not to abandon the work when it gets discouraging.
The exhibit's timing reflects a genuine shift in the field. SPIRITBOX and ARCH ENEMY are both operating at the top of the modern metal touring circuit; White-Gluz has spent the past year splitting duties between ARCH ENEMY and DRAGONFORCE; and Lita Ford's presence anchors the display to the era when a woman playing lead guitar in a metal band was treated as an anomaly rather than a fact of the scene.
Hale has been among the most visible advocates for that shift for well over a decade, both through HALESTORM and through her frequent collaborations and guest appearances across the metal world. Her closing message at the opening was blunt about the stakes: the point of an exhibit like this is not commemoration but permission — evidence, on a museum wall, that the path exists.
“Women In Metal: You Will Know My Name” is on display at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.