A bright spot in this muddled mess of a week between the holidays and the New Year is the televised presentation of the Kennedy Center Honors, presented December 4 but airing tonight at 9 p.m. on CBS. And, as this week has already gotten off to a pretty horrific start, it’s nice to celebrate the small nibbles of joy we have left in this world. One of those joys is Mavis Staples, gospel and R&B singer, honored tonight alongside James Taylor, the Eagles, Al Pacino and Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich.
In an interview with the New York Times published Sunday, Staples is as charming, humble and effervescent as ever. Speaking about the current political climate and the way the world appears to be shaking out, Staples said “I feel like all of this is happening because of the way Mr. Trump is. He’s bringing it on. I’m going to have to start writing songs again.” The former is a correct assessment of what the world is going through right now and the latter is very exciting news, indeed.
Look out for Garth Brooks covering a James Taylor song, too – a performance so stirring that it moved Mavis to fist bump James Taylor.
“I felt so good about it that I gave him a bump,” she said. “He almost didn’t know what my fist was there for, but he finally hit it.” Mavis, you’re the fucking best.
Considering what may come of next years Kennedy Center Honors under a Trump presidency, we should cherish this year’s honorees. Watch the show on CBS, stream it here and discuss what will surely be a triumph below.
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