The 45th Annual Kennedy Center Honors: Star-Studded Ceremony Shakes Rust Off D.C. Social Scene

In 1980, a scrappy up-and-coming Irish band flew across the pond for their first American gigs. After playing The Ritz in New York City, their second show was at The Bayou in Washington, D.C., an equally scrappy college bar tucked under the Whitehurst Freeway. Although The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is just a few minutes down the east bank of the Potomac from the now-shuttered Georgetown haunt, it would take the lads from Dublin 42 years to get there. Their journey, like those of the other worthy honorees at the 45th annual Kennedy Center Honors, was long and winding, filled with perseverance and dripping with relevance. It was these journeys that were front and center during the splashy, A-list affair on Dec. 4, the likes of which Washington hasn’t seen since the Obama years. 

Along with U2 (comprised of band members Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.), acclaimed actor, filmmaker and humanitarian George Clooney; contemporary Christian pop singer-songwriter Amy Grant; legendary soul, gospel, R&B and pop singer Gladys Knight; and Cuban-born American composer, conductor and educator Tania León were feted for their extraordinary contributions to American arts and humanities on a chilly but power-packed December evening.

“It’s truly a testament to longevity,” soul empress Knight told District Fray when asked what the award meant to her. 

León told us she felt the night shed a light on the vital role the arts play in bringing people and cultures together. 

“Artists are the glue of society,” she said. 

Grant simply remarked that she felt “an overwhelming sense of gratitude” for her honor. 

For his part, Clooney told District Fray that “Growing up as a kid in Kentucky, I never could have imagined that I would be honored at the heart of American arts, The Kennedy Center.”

The evening was filled with poignant and humorous memories from a parade of notable presenters. Clooney’s tribute centered on a faux cocktail lounge where “patrons” — such as his father, Nick Clooney, and friends Julia Roberts, Matt Damon and Don Cheadle — shared heartfelt and humorous memories, including Damon’s kitty litter story (sorry, but you’ll have to tune in to hear that one). 

Other notable highlights included Patti LaBelle singing for Knight, her close friend and fellow diva; Michael W. Smith playing Grant’s hit “El Shaddai” backed by the Howard Gospel Choir; and an electric performance of León’s 2021 Pulitzer Prize–winning composition “Stride” by The Kennedy Center’s Director of Jazz Programming Kevin Struthers. Julia Roberts’s gown covered in framed George Clooney portraits was the evening’s top fashion statement. Eddie Vedder held his own belting out the U2 hit “Elevation,” and stepped in at the last minute to croon “One” as Mary J. Blige was unable to attend due to illness. As for the misses? There weren’t many, but a sullen Sean Penn and cringe-inducing sketch by Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat didn’t do U2 any favors. 

One guest who seemed to enjoy the show was President Joe Biden, who was accompanied by First Lady Jill Biden. The two hosted the honorees at a private reception at the White House before the event. After former President Donald Trump did not attend any Kennedy Center Honors events during his presidency, President Biden’s presence this year brought gravitas to the evening and helped elevate the honorees. It was a night another former president, John F. Kennedy, would surely have been proud of, and one that, with its star power, seemed to awaken the Washington social scene from its six-year slumber.

The 45th annual Kennedy Center Honors will air Dec. 28 at 8 p.m. EST on CBS and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. For more information and to learn more about the honorees, click here.

The Kennedy Center: 2700 F St. NW, DC; kennedy-center.org // @kennedycenter 

Michael Clements