Celebrities, cultural icons and a few surprise guests gathered in Washington on Sunday evening for the annual Kennedy Center Honors celebration.

This year’s recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Artistic Achievement are director Francis Ford Coppola, The Grateful Dead, jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt. It also honors the venerable Harlem theater The Apollo, which has produced generations of black artists.

The decision to honor the Apollo is unusual — the first time the Kennedy Center has chosen to honor a specific venue.

“The Apollo means so much to so many of us,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said as he arrived on the red carpet. Moore pointed to the legendary Apollo performances by Lauryn Hill and a young Michael Jackson as treasured memories of his youth.

Music star Sheryl Crow recognized Raitt’s groundbreaking career not only as a singer or songwriter, but also as a widely respected blues guitarist in a male-dominated field.

“I wouldn’t be doing what I do if I hadn’t seen her as a 17-year-old,” said Crow, who bought her first guitar shortly after seeing Raitt in concert.

Raitt himself predicted an emotional evening.

“I brought a huge box of Kleenex and my waterproof eyeliner,” she laughed.

The evening began with host and 2023 honoree Queen Latifah performing a musical medley that included hits from Raitt and Grateful Dead.

The gala at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts features personalized tributes with performances and testimonials from fellow artists. The medallions were presented during the traditional ceremony on Saturday evening at the Foreign Ministry.

The first tribute of the evening featured Emmylou Harris and Dave Matthews performing a cover of Raitt’s duet with the late John Prine, “Angel from Montgomery.”

The tribute performances are often kept secret from the honorees themselves, especially in 2018 when Cyndi Lauper flat out lied to her longtime friend Cher about not being able to attend. Lauper appeared on stage to perform Cher’s hit “If I Could Turn Back Time.”

At a ceremony at the White House before the actual awards ceremony, President Joe Biden praised each honoree. He also left an audience member, actor Robert De Niro, standing before announcing: “If I get in trouble, I’ll come to you, buddy.”

De Niro grinned and nodded, and others in attendance, including the honorees, laughed at a reference to the fact that De Niro sometimes played a hardened enforcer in films like “The Godfather.” But Biden actually said he might enlist the actor’s help for post-presidency career advice.

“February isn’t looking good,” Biden joked. He then admitted that he couldn’t sing or dance, but suggested that he might still find a way to help De Niro’s production company.

This may also be the last Kennedy Center Honors ceremony without political intrigue for a while.

During Donald Trump’s first four years in office, Kennedy Center officials were forced to walk a public tightrope between the tradition of the president attending the ceremony and the open antipathy of several honorees toward Trump. In 2017, honoree Norman Lear threatened to boycott his own ceremony if Trump attended. Trump, who takes office in January, skipped the ceremony throughout his first term.

On the red carpet Sunday evening, several Democratic politicians appeared to offer an olive branch.

“I hope he comes,” Moore said. “This is a wonderful celebration of genius in all its forms.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi added: “I think he would really enjoy it.”

The awards show will air on CBS on December 22nd.

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Will Weissert contributed to this report.