The cancellation of a New Year’s Eve jazz concert has become the latest sign of growing unrest at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as more artists withdraw scheduled performances following a controversial decision by its board of directors. Jazz supergroup the Cookers announced Monday that it had canceled two concerts planned for Wednesday as part of “A Jazz New Year’s Eve.” The move came days after other performers similarly pulled out, citing objections to the recent renaming of the institution.
Artists Object to Renaming Decision
Earlier this month, the Kennedy Center’s board voted to rename the venue the “Trump–Kennedy Center,” adding the name of Donald Trump to the national performing arts memorial. The unprecedented change drew swift criticism from Kennedy family members and Democratic leaders, and has since sparked a wave of artist cancellations. In addition to the Cookers, the long-running dance company Doug Varone and Dancers said it would cancel two performances scheduled for April.
“However, with the latest act of Donald J. Trump renaming the Center after himself, we can no longer permit ourselves nor ask our audiences to step inside this once great institution,” the company wrote on social media.
Growing List of Withdrawn Performances
The New Year’s Eve cancellation follows several others announced in recent days. Jazz musician Chuck Redd withdrew from his annual Christmas Eve performance, while folk singer Kristy Lee canceled a mid-January concert.
“When American history starts getting treated like something you can ban, erase, rename, or rebrand for somebody else’s ego, I can’t stand on that stage and sleep right at night,” Lee wrote on social media.
Previously scheduled productions of Hamilton, a concert by Rhiannon Giddens, and a show by comedian and producer Issa Rae have also been canceled since the leadership change earlier this year.
Musicians Speak Out on Cultural Impact
While the Cookers’ official statement avoided naming Trump or the Kennedy Center directly, it emphasized jazz’s roots in social struggle and freedom of expression.
“Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom,” the group said, adding that it remains committed to music that “reaches across divisions rather than deepening them.”
Saxophonist Billy Harper, a member of the Cookers, was more direct in comments shared online, saying he would not perform at a venue he believes represents “overt racism and deliberate destruction of African American music and culture.”
Kennedy Center Leadership Pushes Back
Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell, a Trump appointee, dismissed the cancellations in a social media post Monday night.
“The arts are for everyone and the left is mad about it,” Grenell wrote, accusing former leadership of prioritizing political activism over broad audience appeal.
As cancellations continue to mount, the dispute has placed the Kennedy Center at the center of a broader debate over politics, cultural institutions, and artistic freedom.
