Last night marked a new milestone for the Grateful Dead as the band received recognition for its artistic accomplishments at the 47th Annual Kennedy Center Honors Gala, with surviving members Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart accepting the prestigious lifetime achievement award on the band’s behalf. Phil Lesh, who passed away in October at the age of 84, was originally supposed to be there too.
The three musicians were adorned with their Kennedy Center Honors medallions on Saturday night during a ceremony at the State Department and received praise from President Joe Biden at a White House reception prior to the actual Kennedy Center Honors ceremony, which was hosted by Queen Latifah at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on Sunday. Along with Phil Lesh’s son Grahame Lesh and the late Jerry Garcia‘s daughter Trixie Garcia, they joined fellow honorees Francis Ford Coppola, Bonnie Raitt, and jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval for an evening of heartfelt tributes starting with Emmylou Harris and Dave Matthews, who performed a cover of Raitt’s iconic duet with the late John Prine, “Angel from Montgomery”.
President Joe Biden Honors The Grateful Dead
Following a video presentation featuring notable Deadheads including John Mayer, Norah Jones, and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who said she recently found a “Deadheads for Dukakis” button from 1988 in an old purse that had been tucked away in a closet, actors Miles Teller and Chloe Sevigny paid tribute to the Dead, as did talk show host David Letterman. Maggie Rogers and Leon Bridges performed a rendition of “Friend of the Devil”, Sturgill Simpson played a moving cover of “Ripple”, and Dave Matthews and Derek Trucks teamed up on “Sugaree”, with Grahame Lesh, Don Was, and more in the backing band.
Sturgill Simpson, Rick Mitarotonda, Grahame Lesh, Don Was — “Ripple” (Grateful Dead) — 12/8/24 — Partial
Related: Grateful Dead To Be Honored As 2025 MusiCares Persons Of The Year
The night concluded on a joyous note with the gala’s esteemed guests filling the aisles to dance to “Not Fade Away” performed by an all-star band featuring Matthews, Rogers, Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Grahame Lesh, and more. A Ben & Jerry’s ice cream station treated attendees to free scoops of Cherry Garcia on the way out.
The 47th Annual Kennedy Center Honors will air on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ on December 22nd at 8:30 p.m. ET. The show will be live and on-demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs.
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