Actor George Clooney, singer-songwriter Amy Grant, singer Gladys Knight, composer Tania León and rock group U2 had been celebrated on Sunday for his or her contributions to the humanities at a White House reception forward of the Kennedy Center Honors present. The Kennedy Center occasion, now in its forty fifth yr, acknowledges stars from music, stage and display screen for his or her contributions to American tradition.

At a reception for the 5 honorees on the White House beforehand, President Joe Biden addressed every personally, praising their particular person abilities and stated they embodied the spirit of the nation. “To see each other, to see ourselves in one another, to unite in common cause – tonight we celebrate a truly exceptional…group of artists,” Biden stated.

The room was filled with celebrities, the White House’s second star-studded occasion

in latest days. Actors Julia Roberts and Matt Damon had been seated subsequent to one another, in entrance of journalist Katie Couric. In the entrance row former Washington, D.C. police officer Michael Fanone, who was overwhelmed defending the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was seated subsequent to singer Eddie Vedder. Clooney, an actor and filmmaker who performed a health care provider on the favored NBC tv present “ER” earlier than launching a film profession that earned him two Academy Awards, has additionally drawn reward for his humanitarian work.

Grant rose to prominence as a recent Christian music singer who later crossed over to pop stardom, amassing six Grammy Awards. Knight, who has gained seven Grammy Awards, is known for hit songs together with “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “Midnight Train to Georgia” because the lead singer of The Pips, which grew to become Gladys Knight & The Pips in 1962.

Cuban-born León is a conductor in addition to a composer, whose orchestral piece “Stride” gained the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Music. Irish band U2, with members Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr., has gained 22 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

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