The Kennedy Center Honors are ready to jam out to some groovy tunes at this year’s ceremony. Maybe smoke a blunt and eat some Cherry Garcia too? The Grateful Dead are among the recipients of the 47th Kennedy Center Honors, and we’re sure the dancing bears are dancing extra hard today. “We’ve always felt that the music we make embodies and imparts something beyond the notes and phrases being played — and that is something we are privileged to share with all who are drawn to what we do — so it also must be said that our music belongs as much to our fans, the Dead Heads, as it does to us,†Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and Bobby Weir said in a statement. “This honor, then, is as much theirs as ours.â€
They join Francis Ford Coppola, maker of the best movies of the 1970s (and 2024’s weirdest movie); singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt; and jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval. The Apollo will receive special honors for being an iconic American institution. The Kennedy Center Honors, taking place on December 8, will broadcast live on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on December 23. After all, what could be better Christmas entertainment for the youth?