Kennedy Center Honors Special 2022 - Full Performers, Presenters, & Honorees Lineup!

It’s that time of the year again and the 2022 Kennedy Center Honors special will be airing tonight on CBS!

The annual show was filmed on the Kennedy Center Opera House stage on December 4.

The Honors recipients are recognized for their contributions to American culture through the performing arts – whether in music, dance, 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; the selection process, over the years, has produced balance among the various arts and artistic disciplines.

The show will air on CBS at 8pm ET/PT on Wednesday (December 28) and it will also stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

Click inside for the full performers, presenters, and honorees lineup…

Keep scrolling for the full performers, presenters, and honorees lineup…

HONOREE: Gladys Knight
LEAD STORYTELLER: LL Cool J
PRESENTER: Michael Tilson Thomas
TRIBUTE PERFORMERS:

• Garth Brooks (Performs “Midnight Train to Georgia”)
• Mickey Guyton (Performs “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”)
• Ariana DeBose (Performs “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”)
• Patti LaBelle, Garth Brooks, Ariana DeBose, Mickey Guyton (Perform “That’s What Friends Are For”)

HONOREE: George Clooney
LEAD STORYTELLER: Julia Roberts
PRESENTERS: Matt Damon, Nick Clooney, Richard Kind, Don Cheadle
TRIBUTE FILM NARRATOR: Brad Pitt
TRIBUTE PERFORMER:

• Dianne Reeves (Performs “How High the Moon” with Terreon Gully, Martin Wind and John Beasley)

HONOREE: Amy Grant
LEAD STORYTELLER: Katie Couric
TRIBUTE PERFORMERS:

• Sheryl Crow (Performs “Baby, Baby”)
• The Highwomen, comprised of Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris and Amanda Shires(Perform “Somewhere Down the Road” with Jason Isbell)
• BeBe & CeCe Winans and Michael W Smith (Perform “Sing Your Praise to the Lord” and “El Shaddai” with Howard University Gospel Choir)

HONOREE: Tania León
LEAD STORYTELLER: Anna Deavere Smith
TRIBUTE PERFORMERS:

• Chloe Flower (Performs “Tumbao” with Dance Theatre of Harlem Company)
• Jael Dolce (Young Tania) and Anna Deavere Smith (Perform “Malguena”)
• Jason and Alicia Hall Moran and Sterling Elliott (Perform “Oh Yemanja”)
• Jeri Lynne Johnson and Joe Kwon to appear with KC orchestra and members of Sphinx (Perform “Stride”)

HONOREE: U2
LEAD STORYTELLER: Sean Penn
PRESENTER: Sacha Baron Cohen
TRIBUTE FILM NARRATORS: Billie Eilish + Finneas, Harry Styles, Beyoncé
TRIBUTE PERFORMERS:

• Eddie Vedder (Performs “Elevation” and “With or Without You”)
• Hozier + Jamala + Brandi Carlile (Perform “Walk On”)