Actor George Clooney, Irish band U2, soul singer Gladys Knight, Christian musician Amy Grant, and Cuban composer Tania León are this year’s recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors, the arts institution announced Thursday.
In a statement, U2 mentioned that the band’s second-ever US show took place at the Bayou in Georgetown the night before John Lennon was killed (can you imagine Bono’s stage banter the following evening?). “[W]e never imagined that 40 years on, we would be invited back to receive one of the nation’s greatest honours,” the band wrote.
The honorees will be fêted December 4, with a TV date to be announced later.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
