WASHINGTON (AP) — Celebrities and guests are arriving at Washington’s Kennedy Center for this year’s Kennedy Center Honors program.
The artists receiving this year’s lifetime artistic achievement award on Sunday are Cher, composer Phillip Glass, country music legend Reba McEntire and jazz icon Wayne Shorter. The co-creators of “Hamilton” will receive a unique award honoring them as “trailblazing creators of a transformative work that defies category.”
Cher said that she has always tried to focus on the music and her fans over any career honors and that she was genuinely surprised to receive the award.
“I never thought I was the right person for this because I’m a little bit out there,” the 72-year-old pop music icon said on the red carpet before the event.
For the second straight year, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will not attend.
Other presidents have missed Kennedy Center ceremonies, but Trump is the first to miss them twice. He returned early Sunday from the Group of 20 summit in Argentina.
Had he gone to the Kennedy Center, it’s unlikely he would have been warmly welcomed by at least some of the honorees.
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