On April 14, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame welcomed the latest group of musical luminaries into the hallowed Cleveland institution, including The Faces / Small Faces , Donovan , Guns N' Roses , Red Hot Chili Peppers , Beastie Boys and Laura Nyro .  If you weren't one of the relatively few lucky people able to attend the ceremony, a two-and-a-half hour special featuring an abridged version of the big event will premiere on Saturday night on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The show boasts a star-studded list of presenters, a plethora of heartfelt acceptance speeches and some captivating performances by many of the inductees, as well as some special guest stars.

Here a just a few of the highlights to look out for:

--Donovan was inducted by friend and fan John Mellencamp , who joined the folk-rock legend during his post-induction set for a memorable rendition of "Season of the Witch."

--While frontman Axl Rose and rhythm guitarst Izzy Stradlin were no-shows, the rest of Guns N' Roses' original lineup were on hand to be welcomed into the Rock Hall by Green Day .  Guitarist Slash , bassist Duff McKagan , drummer Steven Adler and Adler's replacement, Matt Sorum , also played a few of their old band's classics with help from Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy -- who also fronts Slash's current side group.

-- E Street Band guitarist Little Steven Van Zandt inducted The Faces and Small Faces together.  Although founding Faces singer Rod Stewart called in sick shortly before the event, the rest of the band's surviving original members showed up, including Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood .  The raucous rockers performed with Simply Red 's Mick Hucknall filling in for Rod.

-- Bette Midler gave a teary-eyed speech while inducting soulful folk singer Nyro, who succumbed to cancer in 1997 at the age of 49.

--Beastie Boys were ushered into the Rock Hall by LL Cool J and Public Enemy rapper Chuck D .  Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and "Mike D" Diamond accepted the honor, although Adam "MCA" Yauch -- who sadly lost his battle with cancer on Friday -- wasn't well enough to attend the ceremony.  The two Beasties opted not to perform, but Kid Rock , The Roots ' Black Thought and Gym Class Heroes ' Travie McCoy stepped in to pay homage to the trio.

--Red Hot Chili Peppers were inducted by comedian Chris Rock and went on to play a set that included appearances by two of their former drummers.  The funk rockers finished things up with a star-studded jam on Stevie Wonder 's "Higher Ground," with Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong , funk pioneer George Clinton , Slash and Ronnie Wood joining in the fun.

Speaking with ABC News Radio recently, Donovan said of the Rock Hall bash, "It was amazing.  I'd never seen an audience so hyped and so primed.  It was extraordinary."

The 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony special will air numerous other times throughout May on HBO and HBO 2.  In addition, HBO Signature will broadcast a marathon 24-hour screening of the program from midnight Saturday to midnight Sunday.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio