Kennedy Center Honors To Go To Francis Ford Coppola, Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt, Arturo Sandoval And The Apollo

This year’s Kennedy Center Honors will be awarded to director Francis Ford Coppola, rock band Grateful Dead, blues and rock singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt, jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer Arturo Sandoval and the venue The Apollo.

Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis' To Be Released By Lionsgate In U.S.

The ceremony will take place on Dec. 8, for broadcast on Dec. 23 on CBS.

This will be the 47th year of the honors, which started in 1978. It is one of the premiere cultural events of the year in D.C., typically attended by the president and first lady, as well as the chief justice of the Supreme Court and congressional leaders. President Joe Biden has hosted the recipients at a White House ceremony and reception just before the Kennedy Center event. The night before, the State Department also hosts a ceremony for the honorees.

Done+Dusted will produce the ceremony for the third year, in association with ROK Productions.

Coppola will be honored just as he’s released his long-anticipated project, Megaopolis due to open this fall.

Mickey Hart, Billy Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bobby Weir will be recognized for The Grateful Dead. Jerry Garcia, lead guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, died in 1995.

George Lucas Receives Honorary Palme d'Or From Francis Ford Coppola At Cannes Film Festival; Watch Rapturous Reception

Raitt won song of the year at the Grammys last year for “Just Like That.”

Sandoval’s last album was Rhythm & Soul from 2022. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.

The Apollo will receive special honors as an iconic American institution, according to the announcement.

The first Kennedy Center honorees were Marian Anderson, Fred Astaire, George Balanchine, Richard Rodgers and Arthur Rubinstein.

Peter Bart: Coppola's Utopian Epic Stirs Debate At Cannes While Former Partner George Lucas Quietly Sets His Own Pricey, Futuristic Surprise