Barbara Mandrell will receive a Kennedy Center Honor on Dec. 7 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Her selection follows George Strait’s 2025 honor, making this the first time country artists have been recognized in consecutive years by the program.
Country music’s first Kennedy Center honoree was Roy Acuff, recognized in 1991, 14 years after the Honors were first presented. The inaugural class in 1978 included Marian Anderson, Fred Astaire, George Balanchine, Richard Rodgers and Arthur Rubinstein. The program initially emphasized classical music and opera before expanding to include popular genres.
Mandrell has also worked with earlier country honorees. George Jones, recognized in 2008, sang on her 1981 song “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.”
The country artists recognized by the Kennedy Center, listed by the year of their honor, are Roy Acuff (1991), Johnny Cash (1996), Willie Nelson (1998), Loretta Lynn (2003), Dolly Parton (2006), George Jones (2008), Merle Haggard (2010), Reba McEntire (2018), Garth Brooks (2020), George Strait (2025) and Barbara Mandrell (2026).
The source list also notes that Mandrell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009 and received four CMA Awards. In 1981, she became the first performer to win the CMA’s entertainer of the year award for a second time.
Sources: Billboard.