2024 Kennedy Center Honorees, clockwise from left, Apollo Theater, Grateful Dead (Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Billy Kreutzmann), jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer Arturo Sandoval, blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Raitt, and director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.
Apollo Theater / Jay Blakesberg / Jeremy Locke / Ken Friedman / Chad Caig / Kennedy Center Honors
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Apollo Theater / Jay Blakesberg / Jeremy Locke / Ken Friedman / Chad Caig / Kennedy Center Honors
The winners of the 47th Kennedy Center Honors have been announced.
Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award goes to director and filmmaker Francis Ford CoppolaBlues singer-songwriter, guitarist Bonnie RaittJazz trumpeter, pianist and composer Arturo SandovalThe Apollo Theater and the four surviving members of a counterculture rock band Grateful Dead.
Guitarist Bob Weir Cooperated Announcing that he’ll be performing with the National Symphony Orchestra and bringing the Dead’s catalog to the Kennedy Center in 2022, John F. Kennedy told NPR he was speechless and offered deep gratitude to the dedicated Deadheads who supported the band for nearly 60 years, as well as late bandmates Jerry Garcia and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan.
“Until recently, we were kind of outsiders, but now that’s all changed,” Weir says. “We’ve been accepted into the American musical tradition. We’ve always been there.”
The honor raises funds for the Kennedy Center and recognizes artists who have played a significant role in the advancement of American culture. The annual ceremony will be held on Sunday, December 8th and will air on CBS on December 23rd.
“A brilliant and masterful storyteller with a spirit of relentless innovation, Francis Ford Coppola’s films are deeply rooted in the very notion of American culture itself. A social and cultural phenomenon since 1965, the Grateful Dead’s music remains a truly American original and continues to inspire a fan culture unlike any other,” Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein said in a statement announcing the awards.
“Bonnie Raitt has captivated us time and time again with her incomparable voice, slide guitar and boundless musicality spanning blues, R&B, country rock and folk. Arturo Sandoval, an ‘ambassador of music and humanity,’ literally crossed the border when he arrived from Cuba more than 30 years ago and continues to bridge cultures today with his captivating blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms and modern jazz. And now in its 90th anniversary, the Apollo is one of the most important and influential institutions in history, elevating the voice of black entertainment in New York City.”
