The Kennedy Center announced Wednesday that country music legend Garth Brooks will be one of the recipients of the coveted Kennedy Center Honors in 2021. Brooks is among 9 fellow artists to receive this honor including Joan Baez, Dick Van Dyke and more. He will join fellow country music artists Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, George Jones, Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn with this esteemed recognition.
Throughout its 40-year history, the Kennedy Center Honors celebrate legends of music, dance, theater and film. According to their website, they aim to uphold “a tradition of recognizing the lifelong accomplishments and extraordinary talents of our nation’s most prestigious artists.” And with his highly-decorated musical past, it goes without saying that Brooks certainly deserves this honor. The 7-time CMA Entertainer of the Year winner, 23-time ACM winner, Billboard Icon Award winner and GRAMMY Award winner is no stranger to reigning the country music genre. With a career stretching 5 decades, Brooks is also the first – and only – artist to make it on the billboard Hot Country songs chart in the 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s and 20s.
The 43rd Kennedy Center Honors will take place at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. over the weekend of May 17-21, 2021. The ceremony was moved from December 2020 to May 2021, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
