The Oscar-winning director, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, rock band the Grateful Dead, jazz musician Arturo Sandoval and the iconic Apollo Theater will be honoured at the annual ceremony in December.
Each year, the Kennedy Center Honors celebrates artists, performers and creators who have influenced American culture through the performing arts.
While the honourees will be celebrated for a lifetime of artistic achievement, the Apollo, located in New York City, will be honoured as an iconic American institution.
In a statement, The Godfather filmmaker said he was “grateful” to be among this year’s honourees.
“I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to collaborate with great artists and wonderful people throughout my career, and I have never stopped learning,” Coppola said. “There is no greater honour than to be included along with those who inspired me, who I looked up to, and who gave me encouragement when times were dim.”
He added, “I am grateful to the Kennedy Center, my beloved colleagues, to those who equate beauty and truth, and to all the children of the world.”
Meanwhile, the Grateful Dead, made up of Mickey Hart, Billy Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bobby Weir, shared the honour with their fans.
“The Grateful Dead has always been about community, creativity, and exploration in music and presentation,” the rockers stated. “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. This honour, then, is as much theirs as ours.”
The 2024 Kennedy Center Honors will be held in Washington, D.C. on 8 December.
