At the Kennedy Center, a Send-Off to Biden and Questions About the Future

The arrival of the president at the center box is usually a routine event at the Kennedy Center Honors each year. However, President Biden’s appearance on Sunday night felt different, signaling a Washington on the brink of transformation.

During his first term, President-elect Donald J. Trump notably skipped all the Honors events, marking a break from tradition. This raised the question of whether Sunday’s gathering might be the last time the president would attend for the next four years, as a host of celebrities, artists, and officials gathered to celebrate the arts.

David Letterman lightened the mood backstage, joking, “I was talking to people backstage, and they’re going to try to get as many of these Honors in place now before the inauguration,” prompting laughter from the audience.https://wordpress.com/

This year, the Kennedy Center honored a diverse group: filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, iconic rock band the Grateful Dead, Cuban American jazz trumpeter and composer Arturo Sandoval, singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt, and the renowned Apollo Theater in Harlem.

Queen Latifah, the evening’s host, addressed the crowd, emphasizing that artists “find hope in heartache and hard times, and now more than ever, we need artists to help us uncover our shared truths, one story, one rhythm, one lyric at a time.”

The night unfolded with a vibrant mix of musical performances, including Emmylou Harris, Dave Matthews, Sturgill Simpson, Maggie Rogers, and Leon Bridges. There were flamenco dances by Timo Nunez and tap performances by Savion Glover, along with a heartfelt tribute to Coppola featuring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Martin Scorsese.

Scorsese shared a humorous yet telling story about Coppola’s ingenuity, recalling how Coppola rigged a rare RCA 16mm projector to stir pasta sauce, so they could leave the kitchen and attend a screening of Scorsese’s The Last Waltz. “The thing about Francis is that nothing stands in the way of his creativity,” Scorsese said. “That sauce has got to be great, and that film’s got to be great.”

Dave Chappelle, in his tribute to the Apollo Theater, reminisced about his teenage years when he earned the chance to perform at its legendary Amateur Night—a platform that launched careers like Ella Fitzgerald’s. His first performance, he recalled, was a disaster, but it taught him a valuable lesson. “Everyone just started booing; it was like I was outside my body,” Chappelle said. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing: The Black community agreeing on something.” He added that it was that moment he found the courage to be himself, realizing he could survive failing onstage.

As the evening drew to a close, Washington’s political elite danced in their seats during a medley of Grateful Dead songs, including “Ripple,” “Sugaree,” and “Not Fade Away.” The performance was enhanced by a video of Jerry Garcia, the band’s late frontman, playing with the group, and Grahame Lesh, son of the Dead’s bassist Phil Lesh, who passed away in October, also performed.

Before the show, Bob Weir, the band’s guitarist, reflected on the Dead’s legacy, saying, “We had no plan, we had no itinerary; we were just playing. And that’s all we’ve ever done. We had no agenda. We never have. Our entire agenda has been, let’s make some more music.”

Biden’s arrival was underscored by a performance of the national anthem by the U.S. Marine Band, known as “The President’s Own,” while a large image of an American flag waving on the National Mall was projected onto the stage. Biden received a warm round of applause as he and First Lady Jill Biden took their seats, though the reception Vice President Kamala Harris received earlier was even more enthusiastic.

Despite some speculation about what the shift in government might mean for the Kennedy Center and its flagship event, there was a sense of uncertainty. Prominent Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, attended the event. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi remarked that the show had continued without Trump during his presidency. “I didn’t see any problem when President Trump was president before,” she said. “He didn’t come. But that didn’t deter the celebration of the arts from taking place.”