“Thank you for being a porch light at our crowded table,” Natalie Hemby said of Amy Grant at the Kennedy Center Honors Wednesday night (Dec. 28).
Videos by American Songwriter
Hemby and her fellow Highwomen were among the featured performers of the night, paying tribute to the five honorees—Grant, George Clooney, U2, Gladys Knight, and Tania León. As their ode to the “Queen of Christian Pop,” the supergroup performed the 1997 release “Somewhere Down The Road.”
The group—Hemby, Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, and Maren Morris—applied their trademark four-part harmony to the track, staying true to Grant’s original version.
Before the group ramped up their performance, Hemby recalled growing up around Grant and finding her to be a role model in more than one sense. Hemby and the other Highwomen’s reverence was duly felt during the performance. Watch a clip of the moment below.
“This was such a beautiful experience,” Brandi Carlile wrote on social media prior to the broadcast. “Congratulations @amygrant and @U2 on this well-deserved honor. I loved getting to sing with my sisters @TheHighwomen to honor Amy Grant and my dear friend @Hozier and @jamala to honor U2. What a night Tune in to watch tonight on CBS.”
“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine ever receiving this prestigious Kennedy Center Honors,” Grant said of the honor. “Through the years, I’ve watched so many of my heroes serenaded by colleagues and fellow artists, always moved by the ability of music and film to bring us together and to see the best in each other. I cannot wait to celebrate with my fellow honorees, friends, and family. Thank you for widening the circle to include all of us.”
Elsewhere in the night were tributes to Gladys Knight from Garth Brooks and Patti LaBelle; tributes to George Clooney from Julia Roberts and Matt Damon; tributes to U2 from Hozier and more. The ceremony took place on Dec. 4 in Washington, D.C.
Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images
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