Photographer Martin Benjamin, Spa City’s Commander Cody Frontman George Frayne Named to Capital Region Hall of Fame; Induction March 27 at UPH 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Eight individuals will be inducted into the fifth class of the Capital Region Music Hall of Fame Monday, March 27 at Universal Preservation Hall. 

The group includes two members of a pioneering late 1960s and early 70s alt-country band; a nun who helped launch the careers of hundreds of music industry professionals around the globe; one of the region’s most active and best-known bluegrass musicians over the past eight decades; a woman who has promoted bluegrass music through the local airwaves for over 40 years; a legendary rock music photographer; and two guitarist virtuosos who forged careers that have generated international recognition. 

The Capital Region / Eddies Music Hall of Fame Class of 2023: Renowned photographer Martin Benjamin; former Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist Mike Campese; Felicia Collins – best known for her role as guitarist and vocalist in Paul Schaffer’s celebrated “Late Night with David Letterman” band (1993-2015); WAMC-FM/Northeast Public Radio’s weekly “The Hudson River Sampler” host Wanda Fischer; Smokey Greene – multi-instrumentalist in the country and bluegrass music scene for nearly eight decades; Sister Mary Anne Nelson, CSJ, who founded and led The College of St. Rose’s Music Industry program for 49 years; Guitarist and vocalist John Tichy – an original member of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, who joined the faculty of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, where he became head of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering, and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen frontman George Frayne. Frayne relocated to Saratoga Springs in the 1990s, where he was active as a musician and visual artist and lived until his death in 2021. 

The class will be inducted with musical performances, short videos about their careers, speeches and more in a public celebration at UPH. The evening kicks off 6 p.m. with a social gathering; the induction ceremony begins 7 p.m. All inductees are represented with plaques at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs, as well as brief videos highlighting their careers. Tickets are on sale at universalpreservationhall.org 

The Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame and the Eddies Music Awards are part of Proctors Collaborative, as is Universal Preservation Hall.