2019 Kennedy Center Honors Recipients Announced
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has announced the five Honorees who will receive the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements.
Recipients to be honored at the 42nd annual national celebration of the arts are: R&B collective Earth, Wind & Fire, actress Sally Field, singer Linda Ronstadt, children’s television program Sesame Street (the first time a television program will receive the award), and conductor and musical visionary Michael Tilson Thomas.
“Earth, Wind & Fire’s hooks and grooves are the foundation of a seminal style that continues to shape our musical landscape; Sally Field has brought us unforgettable characters, both joyous and poignant, for more than five decades; Linda Ronstadt is the defining voice of a generation, spanning genres, languages, and continents; Sesame Street continues to revolutionize how children and adults learn about our world; and Michael Tilson Thomas goes far beyond keeping score: he has shaped American music and musical institutions for the 21st century,” said Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein.
The Kennedy Center Honors medallions will be presented on Saturday, December 7, the night before the Gala, at a State Department dinner. The Honors Gala will be recorded for broadcast on the CBS Network for the 42nd consecutive year as a two-hour primetime special on Sunday, December 15 at 8 p.m. ET.