Music stars McBride, Van Zandt honored with Common Wealth Award

“The 2025 Common Wealth Award recipients embody the very essence of the idea that we are all more than the sum of our parts. Through their commitment to public service, McBride and Van Zandt have extended their talents beyond the stage to encourage all of us to think beyond ourselves and how we can make a difference in the world around us,” said Gregory Miraglia, PNC market executive for Delaware. “Their singular focus, generous spirit and commitment to excellence represent the best of who we are.”

Country star,, McBride also focues on charitable causes  through her Team Music Is Love charity initative. McBride was honored with the Covenant House Beacon of Hope Award and Music Business Association’s prestigious 2015 Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian Award for her philanthropic efforts that address domestic violence..

A multiple Grammy  nominee,  McBride has sold over 23 million albums to date, which includes 20 Top 10 singles and six  No 1 hits. She has earned more than 15 major music awards.

Van Zandt is a musician, performer, songwriter, arranger, producer, actor, director, international DJ, activist, historian, teacher, New York Times best-selling author,and  Radio Hall of Fame nominee,.

In 1985, Van Zandt formed Artists United Against Apartheid and wrote “Sun City,” a song featuring over 50 major recording artists protesting the South African  system and considered by many political experts to be one of the fatal blows to Apartheid, leading to Nelson Mandela being freed only a few years later.

In 2013 Van Zandt created the Rock and Soul Forever Foundation, a  non-profit and has developed a curriculum called TeachRock.org.

TeachRock uses the lens of music to help students connect all subjects, with lesson plans developed by experienced educators and top experts in the field from history, social studies, and language arts to geography, media studies, science, general music.

After helping create the “Jersey Shore” sound with the Asbury Jukes he became a founding member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, and went on to become a successful solo artist in his own right recording and performing solo with his band Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul.

He also co-stared in the hit HBO series,  “The Sopranos,” playing  "Silvio Dante,” a character that he created, Van Zandt also starred in, co-wrote, executive produced, provided the music supervision and scoring, and directed (the final episode) for the award winning series "Lilyhammer,” which was the FIRST original programming for Netflix.

The Common Wealth Awards of Distinguished Service were first presented in 1979 by The Common Wealth Trust which was created under the will of Ralph Hayes, a  business executive and philanthropist. The awards are made by The Common Wealth Trust. In the 44-year history of the Common Wealth Awards, a total of 217 honorees have been recognized.

Ralph Hayes, creator of the Common Wealth Awards, served on the board of directors of one of PNC’s predecessor banks, The Bank of Delaware, from 1935 to 1965. 

Past winners include 11 Nobel laureates, among them, human rights leader Archbishop Desmond Tutu, statesman Henry Kissinger and authors Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Amy Tan and John Updike. Other recipients include the  43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush; former Secretary of State Colin Powell; H.M. Queen Noor of Jordan; dance legend Mikhail Baryshnikov; Hollywood icons Steve Martin and Martin Short; astronauts John Glenn and Buzz Aldrin; primatologist Jane Goodall; ocean explorer Robert Ballard; television journalists Walter Cronkite, Bob Schieffer and Anderson Cooper; and social activists Betty Ford and Christopher Reeves.

Recipients are given a cash award.

The awards have changed over the years from a high-profile event that included a presentation ceremony and  a large dinner with local dignitaries and PNC customers to  a  more low-key affair.