THIRD PRINTING! AMAZON ROCK BESTSELLER

Cleveland rock fans know all about what was happening on the concert stage.

What was going on backstage was an entirely different story.

ROCK THIS TOWN!

Backstage in Cleveland: Stories you never heard & swag you never saw

Fran Belkin’s collection of t-shirts wound up in boxes in the attic, until one day she realized these mementos—chronicling over thirty years of Cleveland rock and roll history—could illustrate the incredible story of a most unusual family business: Belkin Productions.

The shirts paint a picture of the times, the music, the bands and the concert promotion company her husband Jules and his brother Mike built from the back room of their father’s clothing store into a powerhouse on the national music scene. And unlike the concert tees the rest of us wore, these shirts were designed and produced in very small numbers as “swag” for the bands and crew, rarely seen beyond backstage.

In Rock This Town!, Fran’s collection is artfully woven together with vintage snapshots, concert photography and intimate stories—shared by the Belkin Productions crew who lived them.

Rock photographer Janet Macoska calls this book “one of the only memory albums ever made that gives an inside glimpse at concert production and promotion.”

Rock This Town! is for those of us who were out front, standing drenched in a World Series of Rock downpour, singing along to every word of our favorite song, Bic lighters in the air, screaming for another encore. This is a love letter to every fan of rock and roll.

$18.95    ISBN-13: 978-1-7326933-0-2

144 COLOR PAGES, 465 IMAGES AND 100+ STORIES FROM 35 YEARS OF CLEVELAND CONCERTS—TOLD BY THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THEM.

Order today

Third Printing out now!

Rock This Town! is available at a bookseller near you, online, at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame store, and at some Hudson News airport locations.

“If you live and breathe music like I do, you’re about to be transported back to that magical time with every turn of the page.”

—Barry Gabel, SVP Live Nation

AUTHOR: Fran Belkin grew up in Los Angeles and attended UCLA. She moved to Cleveland for love—and fell in love with Cleveland along the way. In the mid ’60s, her husband Jules was a pioneer in the rock and roll music industry. Fran worked along side him as Belkin Productions grew to become one of the largest regional concert promoters and quietly, one of the most influential in the nation. At the same time, Fran nurtured her passion for art and creative projects. Her 10’ mosaic Fender guitar appeared on the cover of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s first Guitarmania catalog, and she has studied at Anderson Ranch in Colorado.

For over a decade, she’s served on the Cleveland Institute of Art’s Board of Directors, Fran produced Tripped Up, a 2018 feature-length documentary film chronicling Competitours, her son’s 11-day travel competition, (in which she’s participated five times). The film premiered at Cleveland International Film Festival and has appeared on the film festival circuit. Rock This Town! is her first book.

DESIGNER/EDITOR: Christopher Hixson is a designer of books, magazines and creative projects that celebrate the alchemy of merging ink with paper. Chris designed The Tanglewood Picnic (Muddy Puppy Media), which won an American Graphic Design Award, a Gourmand World Cookbook Award for USA printing, and was a USA Best Book Award finalist. He also designed Having World Enough and Time (XLibris) and A Mind in Frame: The Theological Thought of Thomas Traherne (Lincoln Library). His work has been honored by American Craft Council, the Knight Foundation, Print Magazine Annual and Graphic Design USA Annual. Chris grew up in the shadow of Richfield Coliseum, and often camped out in front of the box office to score tickets for a show.

FOREWORD: Barry Gabel has been working in the entertainment industry with Belkin Productions and Live Nation for more than 39 years. During his career he has been instrumental in developing marketing programs and strategies for the grand opening concert for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, The Moscow Circus, Big Apple Circus, Lord Of The Dance, Trans Siberian Orchestra, and Cirque Du Soleil. In 2016, Barry received The Cleveland Association of Broadcasters Award for Excellence in Leadership. Barry has worked with practically every concert attraction that has appeared in the State of Ohio. He continues to be passionate about live music and the incredible community that attends live music events.

Events

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Media

Watch, listen and read about the stories from Rock This Town!

Listen now: WONE 97.5 with Jeff Kinsbach

Listen now: WAKR 93.5 with Jason Sokol

Read now: Oakland Press, Detroit

Read now: Long Island Newsday

Listen now: WCPN Ideastream

Listen now: Cool CLE Podcast

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Watch now: Fox 8 Morning News

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fran (@) rockthistownbook (.) com

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