Grateful Dead, Coppola, Bonnie Raitt on 2024 Kennedy Center Honors list

The recipients of the 47th Kennedy Center Honors have been announced.

This prestigious award for lifetime artistic achievements will honor director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, blues singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Raitt, jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer Arturo Sandoval, and the Apollo Theater, which will receive special recognition as “an iconic American institution.” Additionally, the four surviving members of the countercultural rock band the Grateful Dead will be recognized.

Guitarist Bob Weir, who collaborated with the National Symphony Orchestra to bring the Dead’s catalogue to the Kennedy Center in 2022, expressed his profound gratitude to NPR. He mentioned feeling speechless and extended his heartfelt thanks to the Deadheads who’ve supported the band for nearly six decades, as well as to his deceased bandmates Jerry Garcia and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan.

“Not so long ago, we were sort of outsiders. Now all of that’s kind of changed,” Weir said. “We’ve been more or less accepted into the American musical tradition, which is where we’ve always been.”

The Honors raise money for the Kennedy Center while recognizing significant contributions to American culture.

“In December, we are thrilled to pay special tribute to New York City’s renowned Apollo Theater on its 90th anniversary,” said Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter in a statement. “Throughout its history, The Apollo has guided us and the world forward by discovering and nurturing raw talent, molding a unique cultural identity that defines American culture still today.”