Berklee Honors André 3000 and Sara Bareilles at 2025 Commencement

More than 1,500 graduates from 75 countries and all 50 US states came together to celebrate at the Agganis Arena in Boston for Berklee College of Music’s 2025 commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 10. At the event, Berklee President Jim Lucchese and Ron Savage, vice president and executive director of Berklee College of Music, presented honorary doctorates to two iconic artists: Grammy-winning artist and auteur André Benjamin—best known as André 3000—and Grammy winner and Emmy- and Tony-nominated singer, songwriter, actor, producer, activist, and author Sara Bareilles. 

The annual commencement concert took place the previous evening at Agganis Arena and featured a cast of over 200 graduating students from more than 40 countries. Many of Berklee’s most talented vocalists, instrumentalists, arrangers, track producers, dancers, and visual artists paid tribute to the honorees by performing a selection of their biggest hits, including Outkast’s “So Fresh, So Clean,” “Hey Ya!,” and “Ms. Jackson,” and Bareilles’s “Brave,” “Love Song,” and “She Used to Be Mine.”  

Benjamin, a nine-time Grammy winner who visited Berklee last fall while on tour with his ambient jazz album New Blue Sun, was recognized for his work in music, film, fine arts, fashion, and more, influencing the cultural landscape on a global scale.

In his address to the graduating class, Benjamin reflected on memories from his childhood and his earliest influences in music, recalling when he heard Joe Jackson's song "Steppin' Out.” At that moment, he felt the song was about "stepping out to the future" and how it made him feel. He offered advice to the class of 2025, saying, “People will talk about you, good and bad, you will feel good and bad, but none of it matters. Once you’ve done what you have to do, that’s the work. Everything else is chatter—it doesn’t contribute to what you’re doing. Always keep your original reason [for] doing music, that original feeling you got when you heard the music as a kid. Always keep the original feeling on why you’re making music.”

Bareilles, a two-time Grammy winner who has sold three million albums in the United States and received Primetime Emmy and Tony award nominations for her performances, praised the graduating class for their tremendous concert tribute the previous evening. 

In her remarks, Bareilles discussed her hardest moments and triumphs with the graduating class. “I was struggling with severe anxiety that I didn’t talk about for a very long time . . . it created this sensation of a trap door—like I was always afraid of falling,” she said. “Music became my home because it was the opposite of a trap door—it was solid earth, it was steady and infinite, and I could trust it completely. And over time I learned that not only was it not a trap door, but it was a trampoline.” She emphasized the value of honesty and vulnerability in art, saying, “Whatever you do, keep telling your truth to the world. That’s what makes you an artist.” 

This year’s faculty speech was delivered by Aminah Pilgrim, an associate professor in the Africana Studies Department, who talked about the importance of “the beloved community,” and how that concept will stay with graduates in the future. “Sing your unique song—live it. Get others to sing your song and build a beloved community with you,” said Pilgrim. “You are the most important thing, and the world is waiting for your heart's song.” 

Addressing her fellow classmates, student speaker Rachel McFarlane, a double major in film and media scoring and game and interactive media scoring from Toronto, Canada, described Berklee as "a living, breathing symphony. A place where a Conservatory dancer’s pirouette syncs with a producer’s beat, where Valencia’s flamenco rhythms fuse with Boston’s hip-hop cyphers. Today, we’re not just graduates," McFarlane said. "We’re the bridge between a 150-year legacy and the future of art.”

This year’s honorary doctorate recipients were celebrated for cementing a place in popular culture as artistic innovators, unique creators, and community advocates who continue to connect and inspire global audiences everywhere. Past recipients from the college include Duke Ellington (the first, in 1971), Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones ’51, Celine Dion, B.B. King, Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan, esperanza spalding BM ’05, Usher, Willie Nelson, Missy Elliott, Ringo Starr, Tito Puente, Gloria Estefan, Roberta Flack, Juan Luis Guerra ’82, Rita Moreno, Ledisi, Q-Tip, Gilberto Santa Rosa, and John Legend.

Watch André 3000's speech at Berklee's 2025 commencement ceremony.

Watch Sara Bareilles’s speech at Berklee's 2025 commencement ceremony.