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    New York City Declares West 8th Street as “Jimi Hendrix Way”

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    New York City Declares West 8th Street as “Jimi Hendrix Way”

    While most of New York City right now is adorned in blue and orange, a small corner is forever draped in a “purple haze.” That’s right, Jimi Hendrix has been honored with his very own street in The Big Apple.

    West 8th Street has been officially renamed “Jimi Hendrix Way” in a June 10th celebration. The event, which was rescheduled from late February due to a string of snowstorms, took place at Sixth Avenue and West 8th Street in Greenwich Village, just one block away from Hendrix’s famed Electric Lady Studios. It also follows a 2024 ceremony in which a Greenwich Village street was temporarily renamed in honor of the legendary guitarist.

    The renaming campaign was headed up in part by NYC District 2 Council Member Harvey Epstein and the guitar god’s estate, Experience Hendrix. During the ceremony, Hendrix’s sister, Janie Hendrix, said that she’s been asking the city for the renaming since his death in late 1970.

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    “We used to have a petition in Electric Lady Studios to sign that said, ‘Name this street after Jimi,’ and it seemed to go nowhere,” Janie Hendrix said (via The New York Times). “We also tried to get Jimi’s face on a stamp, and that eventually happened, 12 years ago. All in due time.”

    In a statement, Epstein mentioned the vital role Hendrix still plays to the people of his district.

    “We are proud to honor the legacy of Jimi Hendrix today,” Epstein said. “Our district has long been a hub of culture, arts, and activism, and Jimi Hendrix embodied all of those ideals. He was not only a groundbreaking musician, but also a powerful voice for peace, racial equity, and social justice. He revolutionized music in this neighborhood, and it is only fitting that these streets now carry his name.”

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    The ceremony itself featured a number of guests, including Living Colour’s Vernon Reid, songwriter and performer Valerie Simpson, Felicia Collins (from the World’s Most Dangerous Band on Late Show with David Letterman), and engineer Eddie Kramer (who helped conceptualize Electric Lady Studios). Also in attendance was Stevie Van Zandt, who not only celebrated Hendrix’s storied legacy, but used the event to launch a new national education partnership with his group TeachRock. The partnership will allow for free online lessons and resources, with music used in tutoring elementary kids in core subjects like history and language arts.

    In a statement, Janie Hendrix said, “This collaboration speaks directly to the heart of our mission, carrying Jimi’s legacy forward through education. His music remains a powerful gateway for young people to connect with history, creativity, and their own potential.”

    Van Zandt mirrored those same sentiments in his own statement, adding, “Jimi Hendrix didn’t just play guitar, he reimagined what art could be. With TeachRock, we want students to experience that same sense of possibility and discovery that so many of us felt the first time we heard Jimi. His story, lyrics, and sound remind young people that creativity has no limits.”

    Revisit where Jimi Hendrix lands on our list of the 100 best guitarists of all time.

    You can access the Hendrix-centered lessons (which includes materials from his famed 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival performance) for free right now at TeachRock’s official website. Below, check out footage from the ceremony itself.

     

    Originally Published Here.

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