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WEST LONG BRANCH –The Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music has announced the honorees of its fourth annual American Music Honors event, to be held Saturday, April 18 on the campus of Monmouth University.
The 2026 honorees are: Dionne Warwick, Patti Smith, Dr. Dre, The E Street Band, and the Doors. This year’s event will also feature a special posthumous tribute to the Band.
Dionne Warwick is one of the most influential vocalists in American popular music, known for her elegant phrasing and emotional precision.
Patti Smith is a visionary artist and poet whose groundbreaking work fused punk, poetry, and rock into a powerful new language of artistic expression.
Dr. Dre is a pioneering producer, artist, and entrepreneur who helped shape the sound of hip-hop and launched the careers of some of the genre’s most influential voices.
The E Street Band is one of the most enduring and influential ensembles in American rock history, with a body of work that has given voice to working-class stories for over five decades.
The Doors were a defining force of late-1960s rock, blending blues, psychedelia, and literary ambition into music that challenged conventions and expanded the possibilities of the genre.
The Band—despite all but one member being Canadians—reshaped American roots music by drawing from folk, blues, country, and rock to create a deeply influential and distinctly American sound.
Brian Williams, journalist and veteran television news anchor, will once again host the American Music Honors.
“The artists we’re honoring this year didn’t just shape popular music—they helped define it,” said Robert Santelli, founding executive director of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music. “Their work reflects the creativity, risk-taking, and cultural exchange that sit at the heart of American music, and it’s a privilege to celebrate their legacies.”
American Music Honors will take place in Monmouth University’s Pollak Theatre. Stevie Van Zandt’s Disciples of Soul will again serve as the evening’s house band. Award presenters will include Bruce Springsteen (Dionne Warwick and Patti Smith), Jimmy Iovine (Dr. Dre), Jon Landau (the E Street Band), and Stevie Van Zandt (the Doors).
Tickets for the fourth annual American Music Honors will go on sale to the public online on March 18 at noon. Ticket information will be available at www.springsteencenter.org/american-music-honors-2026
“Monmouth University is proud to welcome these luminaries to campus for our fourth American Music Honors,” said Monmouth University President Patrick Leahy. “The program reflects a living lineage of American music, spanning pop-soul artistry, punk-poetry, hip-hop innovation and rock ’n’ roll. Our honorees embody the diverse tapestry of American music, and I am grateful for their support of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music.”
Past honorees include Darlene Love, Mavis Staples, John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, John Fogerty, Emmylou Harris, and Tom Morello.
The Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music preserves the legacy of Bruce Springsteen and celebrates the history of American music and its diversity of artists and genres. As the home of the Bruce Springsteen Archives, the Center serves as the official repository for materials related to Springsteen and The E Street Band, including photographs, historic memorabilia, oral histories, and more. The Center also explores American music more broadly by producing exhibitions, concerts, and educational programming that interprets and honors the cultural impact of American music past, present, and future.
