Al Pacino.
Honorees for 2016 include Argentine pianist Martha Argerich, rock band the Eagles, screen and stage actor Al Pacino, gospel and blues singer Mavis Staples, and musician James Taylor.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attended the star-studded event, which featured a rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner” by Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell.
Complete list of presenters and performers, according to the Kennedy Center, follows:
HONOREE: James Taylor
Multiple Grammy Award and Emmy Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist
TRIBUTE PRESENTERS/PERFORMERS: President William Jefferson Clinton (Spoken Tribute)
42nd President of the United States (1993-2001)
Darius Rucker (Performs “Sweet Baby James”/“Carolina in My Mind”)
Multiple Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter
Sheryl Crow (Performs “Fire & Rain”/“Your Smiling Face”)
Multiple Grammy Award-winning musician
Yo-Yo Ma (Spoken Tribute)
Multiple Grammy Award-winning cellist; 2011 Kennedy Center Honoree
Garth Brooks (Performs “Shower the People”)
Multiple Grammy Award-winning country singer-songwriter
James Taylor Tribute Cast (Performs “How Sweet It Is”)
HONOREE: Al Pacino
Academy Award, Tony Award, Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning actor, filmmaker and screenwriter
TRIBUTE PRESENTERS/PERFORMERS: Chris O’Donnell (Spoken Tribute and Tango Performance from Scent of a Woman with Gabrielle Anwar)
Golden Globe Award nominated actor
Bobby Cannavale (Spoken Tribute)
Emmy Award-winning and Tony Award nominated actor
Lily Rabe (Performance Tribute)
Tony Award nominated actress
Laurence Fishburne (Performance Tribute)
Academy Award nominee, Tony Award and Emmy Award-winning actor, playwright, director and producer
Kevin Spacey (Spoken Tribute)
Multiple Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and Tony Award-winning actor, director, producer, screenwriter and singer
Gabrielle Anwar (Tango Performance from Scent of a Woman with Chris O’Donnell)
Actress
Sean Penn (Spoken Tribute)
Academy Award-winning actor and filmmaker
HONOREE: Mavis Staples
Grammy Award-winning gospel and blues singer and actress
TRIBUTE PRESENTERS/PERFORMERS: Bonnie Raitt (Spoken Tribute and Performance of “We Shall Not Be Moved”/“Freedom Highway” with Andra Day)
Multiple Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter; inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000
Elle King (Performs “Respect Yourself”/“I’ll Take You There”)
Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter and actress
Don Cheadle (Spoken Tribute)
Academy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning actor, writer, producer and director
Andra Day (Performs “We Shall Not Be Moved”/“Freedom Highway” with Bonnie Raitt)
Grammy Award nominated singer-songwriter
HONOREE: Martha Argerich
Multiple Grammy Award-winning Argentinian pianist
TRIBUTE PRESENTERS/PERFORMERS: Jeff Goldblum (Spoken Tribute)
Academy Award and Emmy Award nominated actor
Itzhak Perlman (Performs “Beethoven: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 8, in G, Op. 30, No. 3. Allegro Vivace (Third Movement)” with Yefim Bronfman)
Multiple Grammy Award and Emmy Award-winning violinist and conductor; 2003 Kennedy Center Honoree
Yefim Bronfman (Performs “Beethoven: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 8, in G, Op. 30, No. 3. Allegro Vivace (Third Movement)” with Itzhak Perlman)
Classical pianist
Placido Domingo (Spoken Tribute)
Multiple Grammy Award and Latin Grammy Award-winning singer and conductor, Kennedy Center Honoree
Yuja Wang (Performs “Piazzola Grand Tango”)
Classical pianist
JOHN F. KENNEDY TRIBUTE SEGMENT: Jack Schlossberg, Rose Schlossberg and Tatiana Schlossberg
Grandchildren of John F. Kennedy (Spoken Tribute)
Cynthia Erivo (Performs “The Impossible Dream” from the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha)
Tony Award-winning actress and singer
HONOREE: Eagles
Multiple Grammy Award-winning rock band, inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998
TRIBUTE PRESENTERS/PERFORMERS: Ringo Starr (Spoken Tribute)
Founding member of the Beatles; Academy Award-winning musician, singer-songwriter and actor; inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015
Kings of Leon (Performs “Take It Easy”)
Grammy Award-winning American rock band
Vince Gill (Performs “Peaceful Easy Feeling”)
Multiple Grammy Award-winning country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
Bob Seger (Performs “Heartache Tonight”)
Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist, inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004
Juanes (Performs “Hotel California” with Steve Vai and Steuart Smith)
Multiple Grammy Award and Latin Grammy Award-winning musician
Steve Vai (Performs “Hotel California” with Juanes and Steuart Smith)
Multiple Grammy Award-winning guitarist, singer, composer, songwriter and producer
Steuart Smith (Performs “Hotel California” with Juanes and Steve Vai)
Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, writer and producer
Eagles Tribute Cast (Performs “Life in the Fast Lane”)
The Honors recipients are recognized for “their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts – whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures or television – and are confirmed by the Executive Committee of the Center’s Board of Trustees. The primary criterion in the selection process is excellence. The Honors are not designated by art form or category of artistic achievement; over the years, the selection process has produced a balance among the various arts and artistic disciplines.”
Pacino made his Broadway debut in 1969 with Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?, which won him a Featured Actor Tony Award. His screen credits include The Godfather and Scent of a Woman, among numerous others. His additional stage credits include Camino Real, The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (Tony Award), King Richard III, American Buffalo, Chinese Coffee, Hughie, The Merchant of Venice and, most recently, China Doll.
