The Dead were among this year’s class of honorees at the Washington, D.C., ceremonies
Sturgill Simpson paid tribute to the Grateful Dead for the band’s upcoming Kennedy Center Honors, playing a twangy country cover of the band’s classic “Ripple.”
Simpson performed the song in front of Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann, the Dead’s three surviving members. He was joined onstage by Don Was as well as the late Phil Lesh’s grandson Grahame to interpret the track off 1970’s American Beauty.
Simpson’s grown more acquainted with the Dead’s music in recent years, particularly as he joined some of the band for the Dead Ahead Festival in Mexico at the beginning of 2024. He told Uncut magazine that learning Jerry Garcia’s guitar playing gave him renewed inspiration. “After I got home from those shows, all I could think about was playing guitar for 10 hours a day again,” he said. “Jerry Garcia, I hate to say it, might have saved my life.”
The Grateful Dead are one of four artists who were honored at the 47th Annual Kennedy Center Honors earlier this month, along with Bonnie Raitt, Francis Ford Coppola, and Arturo Sandoval. Queen Latifah will host the broadcast, which airs Sunday, Dec. 22, at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+. Other performers include Maggie Rogers, Sheryl Crow, Brandi Carlile, and Dave Matthews.
The Dead have more honors coming up in the months ahead as well; they’ll be recognized as MusiCares’ 2025 persons of the year during Grammy Week in Los Angeles in February.