The Kennedy Center has revealed the honorees for the 47th annual Kennedy Center Honors, recognizing extraordinary lifetime artistic achievements. This year’s illustrious recipients include director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, blues singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Raitt, jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer Arturo Sandoval, the historic Apollo Theater, and the four surviving members of the legendary rock band the Grateful Dead.
Bob Weir, guitarist for the Grateful Dead, expressed his gratitude and surprise at the honor. Having collaborated with the National Symphony Orchestra to bring the Dead’s music to the Kennedy Center in 2022, Weir highlighted the significance of this recognition. “Not so long ago, we were sort of outsiders. Now, all of that’s kind of changed,” Weir told NPR. “We’ve been accepted into the American musical tradition, which is where we’ve always been.” He also thanked the devoted Deadheads and remembered his late bandmates Jerry Garcia and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan.
The Kennedy Center Honors, scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 8, aim to celebrate artists who have significantly influenced American culture. The event will air on CBS on Monday, Dec. 23.
David M. Rubenstein, Chairman of the Kennedy Center, praised the honorees in a statement: “A brilliant and masterful storyteller with an unrelenting innovative spirit, Francis Ford Coppola’s films have become embedded in the very idea of American culture; a social and cultural phenomenon since 1965, the Grateful Dead’s music has never stopped being a true American original while inspiring a fan culture like no other.”
He continued, “Bonnie Raitt has made us love her again and again with her inimitable voice, slide guitar, and endless musical range encompassing blues, R&B, country rock, and folk; ‘an ambassador of both music and humanity,’ Arturo Sandoval transcended literal borders coming from Cuba 30+ years ago and today continues to bridge cultures with his intoxicating blend of Afro Cuban rhythms and modern jazz; and on its 90th anniversary, The Apollo, one of the most consequential, influential institutions in history, has elevated the voices of Black entertainment in New York.”
The Kennedy Center Honors not only celebrate these influential artists but also help raise funds for the Kennedy Center, supporting its mission to uphold the legacy of the arts in America.
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