In addition to his own touring, Springsteen made a number of appearances at tribute and benefit concerts during 2009, including The Clearwater Concert (a celebration of Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary benefit concert, and a benefit for the advocacy group Autism Speaks at Carnegie Hall. On January 22, 2010, he joined many well-known artists to perform on Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, organized by George Clooney to raise money to help the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
In 2009, Springsteen performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States.
Springsteen was among the recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors, an annual award to figures from the world of arts for their contribution to American culture, in December 2009. President Obama gave a speech in which he talked about how Springsteen has incorporated the life of regular Americans in his expansive pallette of songs and how his concerts are beyond the typical rock-and-roll concerts, how, apart from being high-energy concerts, they are “communions”. He ended the remark “while I am the president, he is The Boss“. Tributes were paid by several well-known celebrities including Jon Stewart (who described Springsteen’s “unprecedented combination of lyrical eloquence, musical mastery and sheer unbridled, unadulterated joy”). A musical tribute featured John Mellencamp, Ben Harper, and Jennifer Nettles, Melissa Etheridge, Eddie Vedder, and Sting.