Highlights From Kennedy Center Honors Tributes To The Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt, Arturo Sandoval, More [Videos]

The 47th Kennedy Center Honors ceremony honoring the Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt, Francis Ford Coppola, Arturo Sandoval, and The Apollo aired on CBS last night, two weeks after the presentation took place in Washington, D.C., finally offering a look at the prestigious event recognizing each honoree’s contributions to American culture.

The night kicked off with a medley of the honorees’ songs sung by host Queen Latifah with a troupe of dancers. A previously leaked snippet of her dazzling rendition of “Shakedown Street” turned out to be basically the whole thing, but the number was part of a larger tribute to all the honorees that opened the show on a high note.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Honors Bonnie Raitt

The main proceedings then began with a touching tribute to Bonnie Raitt by actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus. “No matter the genre, no matter the tempo, no matter who wrote it, it’s her old soul that just grips us,” she said. “It draws us in and it won’t let us go. She connects to all of us in a very singular way. I don’t know if you can learn to do that. I do know you can’t fake it. Bonnie Raitt is just completely real. It’s her genuineness that’s what kills you right. Song after song Bonnie Raitt is entirely authentic. Whatever she sings and plays, you know instantly that it’s Bonnie Raitt. It’s just all red hair and no bullsh–t.”

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Brandi Carlile & Sheryl Crow Perform “I Can’t Make You Love Me” For Bonnie Raitt

A series of musical tributes to Raitt was an early highlight of the ceremony and underscored the diversity of her musical contributions. First, Emmylou Harris and Dave Matthews performed John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery”, which Raitt turned into a smash hit via her 1974 cover. Then, Susan Tedeschi and Keb’ Mo’ teamed up on “Walkin’ Blues”; Brandi Carlile and Sheryl Crow sang a tender “I Can’t Make You Love Me”; and Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, and Arnold McCuller concluded the tribute with “Nick of Time”.

A tribute to Cuban-born jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval then featured performances by Chris Botti and an all-star band featuring Trombone Shorty, Cimafunk, Ruben Rodriguez, Chucho Valdés, Pedrito Martinez, Yasser Tejada, Randy Brecker, and José Sibaja.

Chris Botti Performs “Smile” For Arturo Sandoval

Next, a tribute to The Apollo Theater—the first institution to receive Kennedy Center Honors—highlighted the Harlem venue’s crucial role in Black cultural history with performances by spiritual jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington, a Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell medley sung by The War and Treaty, and more. Comedian Dave Chappelle also paid tribute to The Apollo, where he performed at amateur night after winning contest in Washington, D.C. He told of being booed by the audience and danced off by The Sandman—a clown who famously ushered bad acts off the stage. Chappelle said it was his first time being rejected by an audience and that the experience helped him get over that fear because “it wasn’t that bad.”

Dave Chappelle Honors The Apollo

Then, after a moving tribute to filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola featuring everyone from actors Robert De Niro and Al Pacino to directors Martin Scorsese and George Lucas, the evening culminated with a star-studded tribute to the Grateful Dead. Actors Miles Teller and Chloë Sevigny each spoke about the band’s importance to American culture and the lives of fans, and David Letterman talked about having the band on his late-night program and played a clip of him jokingly giving a guitar lesson to Jerry Garcia.

David Letterman Honors The Grateful Dead

The highlight, though, was a series of musical tributes featuring a stellar backing band led by producer and Wolf Bros bassist Don Was with Goose‘s Rick Mitarotonda, Dead & Company keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, Phil Lesh‘s son Grahame Lesh, and drummers Terence Higgins and Kendrick Scott. The performance included Maggie Rogers and Leon Bridges’ unique interpretation of “Friend of the Devil”; Sturgill Simpson, Grahame Lesh, and a synced video of Jerry Garcia singing “Ripple”; and Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, and Dave Matthews playing “Sugaree”. The evening then concluded with a joyful, all-hand-on-deck rendition of “Not Fade Away”.

Sturgill Simpson Performs “Ripple” For The Grateful Dead

Check out additional clips from the 47th annual Kennedy Center Honors along with reactions from the honorees below. The full program is available to stream on Paramount+.