Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt and Apollo Theater among 2024 Kennedy Center honorees

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has announced the list of 2024 awards. The Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt, Francis Ford Coppola, Arturo Sandoval and New York's Apollo Theater will be honored for their contributions to the arts. The ceremony in Washington, DC, will take place on December 8 and will be broadcast on CBS and Paramount+.

David M. Rubenstein, president of the Kennedy Center, said in a press release:

A brilliant and masterful storyteller with a relentlessly 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 music of the Grateful Dead has never ceased to be a true American original, inspiring a fan culture like no other. Bonnie Raitt has made us love her time and time again with her inimitable voice, slide guitar and endless musical range that includes blues, R&B, country rock and folk. An “ambassador of both music and humanity”, Arturo Sandoval transcended literal borders arriving from Cuba over 30 years ago and today continues to bridge cultures with his intoxicating blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms and contemporary jazz. and on its 90th anniversary, The Apollo, one of the most influential, influential institutions in history, raised the voices of black entertainment in New York, nationally and around the world, and launched the careers of legions of artists.

Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bobby Weir of the Grateful Dead added, in part:

The Grateful Dead has always been about community, creativity and exploration in music and performance. We've always felt that the music we make embodies and communicates something beyond the notes and phrases played—and that's something we're privileged to share with everyone who's drawn to what we do—so it must also be said that the our music belongs to our fans, the Dead Heads, as much as to us. This honor, then, is as much theirs as ours.

From our first days in San Francisco and as far as our tours have taken us, it has been and continues to be an incredible ride. We had the opportunity to play with many talented musicians, interact with many gifted people—and become a part of something much bigger than ourselves. Our music has always been about exploration and overcoming or finding our way around obstacles, not only musically but bringing people together. Energy, love, connection and sharing — once again, that's what it's all about.

Read Emma Carmichael's Sunday review of Bonnie Raitt's Nick of Time.