Must-See Key Moments From the 2024 Kennedy Center Honors

The energy was electric at the Kennedy Center’s 47th annual national celebration of the arts on Dec. 8, which honored the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, 81, Bill Kreutzmann, 78, the late Phil Lesh, and Bobby Weir, 77; filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, 85; blues singer Bonnie Raitt, 75, jazz musician Arturo Sandoval, 75; and The Apollo Theater, which received a special Honors as an iconic American institution.​

The Honorees received their rainbow ribbon-adorned medallions at a ceremony Dec. 7 at the U.S. Department of State, and were received at a White House reception prior to their arrival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. A dazzling lineup of A-list talents showed up to pay tribute to the honorees.​

The 47th Annual Kennedy Center Honors airs at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on Dec. 22 on CBS. Here are the top moments that everyone will be talking about:​

Queen Latifah at at the Kennedy Center Honors.

Joy Asico-Smith/CBS

The Queen gave Bonnie Raitt a royal introduction

​Queen Latifah, 54, who received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2023, took her first turn as Honors host, kicking off the night by declaring, “Let’s party!” and then launching right into the opening number, singing Raitt’s 1991 hit “Something to Talk About.” After each Honoree was introduced, Vice President Kamala Harris, 60, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, 60, received a roaring applause from the crowd. President Joe Biden, 82, and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, 73, were also greeted with a huge applause in their final Honors show of his presidential term. The U.S. Marine Band played the National Anthem to honor Biden’s many years of service.​

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 63, called Raitt an “old soul” who has the “widest musical range of any popular artist I can think of. She connects to all of us in such a singular way.” Louis-Dreyfus noted that the blues singer was “entirely authentic” and “all red hair and no bull [expletive].”​

Dave Matthews and Emmylou Harris.

Joy Asico-Smith/CBS

Dave Matthews gave Raitt a Quaker salute​

Dave Matthews, 57, and Emmylou Harris, 77, teamed up on stage to give a soulful rendition of John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery,” another iconic Raitt hit. Matthews spoke of how he, like Raitt, was raised Quaker, who “value everyone as equal” and “believe in peace above all things on earth.” He said he listened to Raitt’s music growing up in apartheid South Africa and thanked her for “shining your light on the world.” Brandi Carlile sang “I Can’t Make You Love Me” accompanied on the piano by Sheryl Crow, 62.​