Here Are All the MusiCares Person of the Year Honorees

MusiCares announced on Thursday (Oct. 19) that Jon Bon Jovi will be honored as the 2024 MusiCares Person of the Year at the annual benefit gala, to be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024, two nights before the 66th Annual Grammy Awards at the adjoining Crypto.com Arena.

The veteran rock star is 61, which makes him the youngest honoree since Don Henley received the honor at age 59 in 2007. He’s the second New Jersey native to receive the honor, following Bruce Springsteen in 2013.

According to MusiCares, the person of the year award “celebrates our honoree’s creative accomplishments and philanthropic work. This star-studded dinner and concert experience raises funds for MusiCares’ vital programs and relief efforts.”

That blurb hints at what MusiCares is looking for in an honoree. They certainly want to recognize an accomplished artist who seems worthy of the honor, but just as important, they want to sell tables and individual tickets, ads in the program book and auction offerings. So, they’re looking for someone who has the connections and history in the music industry to fill the room. That’s why most of the honorees are well along in their careers by the time they are selected.

Here are all of the person of the year honorees to date, shown in reverse chronological order. All years refer to the year the person of the year event was held and the year of the corresponding Grammy telecast (or year of award presentations for the years before the launch of the live telecast in 1971.)

Paul Grein

Billboard