A view of the Kennedy Middle in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 10, 2026. Artists have cancelled performances at Washington D.C.’s premier performing arts heart to protest its renaming to incorporate President Donald Trump.
Mandel Ngan/AFP through Getty Photographs
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Mandel Ngan/AFP through Getty Photographs
When President Donald Trump was named chairman of the Kennedy Middle’s board nearly a 12 months in the past, in February 2025, backlash from ticket consumers, slated performers, and sure board members — together with Shonda Rhimes — was swift.
One of many first performers to cancel was a touring manufacturing of the musical Hamilton. In a assertion on X in March 2025, producer Jeffrey Vendor stated he opposed the Trump administration’s ousting of many Democratic board members.
“The current purge by the Trump Administration of each skilled workers and performing arts occasions at or initially produced by the Kennedy Middle flies within the face of all the pieces this nationwide heart represents,” wrote Vendor.
Actress and author Issa Rae adopted swimsuit with a publish on Instagram, cancelling her sold-out March efficiency.
A slew of extra artists and efficiency corporations canceled after Trump-appointed members of the Kennedy Middle’s board voted to rename the middle “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Middle for the Performing Arts” in December. Congress has not but licensed the title change. For the reason that energy of the venue’s board to rename the middle is presently in dispute, NPR continues to consult with the Kennedy Middle utilizing its authorized title.
Kennedy Middle government director Richard Grenell has responded to many cancellations on social media, condemning the artists. After Banjo participant Béla Fleck canceled his efficiency as a result of he stated the middle had turn out to be “political,” Grenell wrote on X, “You simply made it political and caved to the woke mob who desires you to carry out for under Lefties.”
“This mob pressuring you’ll by no means be blissful till you solely play for Democrats. The Trump Kennedy Middle believes all persons are welcome — Democrats and Republicans and other people bored with politics. We wish performers who aren’t political — who merely love entertaining everybody no matter who they voted for.”
Discover a operating checklist of those cancellations under.
Dancers with the Martha Graham Dance Firm carry out a scene from “Diversions of Angels” throughout a costume rehearsal on the Joyce Theater in New York on Sept. 12, 2007. Based in 1926, the Martha Graham Dance Firm is the oldest dance firm in America.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP through Getty Photographs
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Timothy A. Clary/AFP through Getty Photographs
The Martha Graham Dance Firm
The Martha Graham Dance Firm introduced its withdrawal from spring 2026 programming on the Kennedy Middle on Jan. 16.
“The Martha Graham Dance Firm regrets that, for quite a lot of causes, we’re unable to carry out on the Kennedy Middle in April,” the corporate wrote in an announcement to NPR. “We hope to carry out on the heart sooner or later.”
The Martha Graham Dance Firm — which is the oldest dance firm in america — was scheduled to cease on the Kennedy Middle for a two-day run in early April as a part of its nationwide centennial tour. Its founder, Martha Graham, was a 1979 Kennedy Middle Honoree acknowledged because the “mom of recent dance.”
Christine Goerke, within the a part of Florencia, sings throughout a efficiency of “Florencia within the Amazon,” introduced by the Washington Nationwide Opera, on the John F. Kennedy Middle for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 17, 2014.
Saul Loeb/AFP through Getty Photographs
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Saul Loeb/AFP through Getty Photographs
The Washington Nationwide Opera
On Jan. 9, the Washington Nationwide Opera introduced its determination to go away the Kennedy Middle, its house since 1971. In line with an e-mail assertion despatched to NPR, the choice got here in response to new insurance policies which the 70-year-old performing arts group stated pressure its monetary mannequin.
The Washington Nationwide Opera confused the “amicability” of its determination to finish its longtime residency on the Kennedy Middle. But it surely stated the middle’s new enterprise mannequin, which requires productions to be fully-funded prematurely, is incompatible with the same old mixture of ticket gross sales, grants and donations that can’t all be secured forward.
“Opera corporations usually cowl solely 30-60% of prices by ticket gross sales, with the rest from grants and donations that can not be secured years forward when productions have to be deliberate,” the assertion stated.
On social media, the Kennedy Middle’s Grenell stated it was the middle’s determination to sever ties with the opera firm — and never the opposite approach round.
“The Trump Kennedy Middle has made the choice to finish the EXCLUSIVE partnership with the Washington Opera in order that we will have the flexibleness and funds to usher in operas from world wide and throughout the U.S.” Grenell stated.
Sonia De Los Santos
On Jan. 8, singer-songwriter Sonia De Los Santos introduced on Instagram that she was canceling her upcoming February live performance on the Kennedy Middle. “As an artist,” wrote De Los Santos, “I treasure the liberty to create and share my music, and for a few years I’ve used this privilege to uplift the tales of immigrants on this nation.”
De Los Santos, who was nominated for a Latin Grammy for finest kids’s album in 2018, acknowledged that “I don’t really feel that the present local weather at this beloved venue represents a welcoming area for myself, my band, or our viewers.”
Béla Fleck performs onstage throughout the 67th Annual Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony at Peacock Theater on Feb. 2, 2025 in Los Angeles.
Leon Bennett/Getty Photographs for The Recording Academy
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Leon Bennett/Getty Photographs for The Recording Academy
Béla Fleck
Performing on the Kennedy Middle “has turn out to be charged and political, at an establishment the place the main focus must be on the music,” wrote American banjo participant Béla Fleck about his scheduled look with the Nationwide Symphony Orchestra in an official assertion posted to Instagram on Jan. 7. “I’ve withdrawn from my upcoming efficiency with the NSO at The Kennedy Middle,” he wrote. “I stay up for enjoying with the NSO one other time sooner or later once we can collectively share and have fun artwork.”
The 18-time Grammy winner has carried out on the Kennedy Middle up to now.
Stephen Schwartz
The composer and lyricist for the beloved musicals Depraved, Godspell and Pippin was anticipated to host a gala fundraiser for the Washington Nationwide Opera in Might 2026. On Jan. 2, Schwartz introduced his withdrawal. In line with NBC Information, Schwartz mirrored that the Kennedy Middle was “based to be an apolitical house without cost inventive expression for artists of all nationalities and ideologies.” At this time, he stated, making an look “has now turn out to be an ideological assertion.”
Richard Grenell shortly responded to Schwartz’s withdrawal, calling it a “bogus” report in an announcement posted on X and saying reporters have been plagiarizing a “pretend @RollingStone story.” Schwartz was “by no means signed,” Grenell wrote.
Experiences from NBC and different retailers, together with Selection, have refuted this declare, publishing screenshots exhibiting that Schwartz was promoted on the Kennedy Middle’s web site previous to his cancellation.
Stephen Schwartz attends the 2025 Songwriters Corridor Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Marriott Marquis Instances Sq. on Jun. 12, 2025 in New York Metropolis.
Theo Wargo/Getty Photographs for Songwriters Corridor Of Fame
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Theo Wargo/Getty Photographs for Songwriters Corridor Of Fame
The Cookers
The seven-piece band of veteran jazz musicians introduced shortly earlier than Dec. 31 that they’d not carry out a deliberate present referred to as “A Jazz New 12 months’s Eve” on the Kennedy Middle.
“We all know this information is disappointing,” reads the assertion on their web site. “We aren’t turning away from our viewers, and do need to ensure that once we do return to the bandstand, the room is ready to have fun the complete presence of the music and everybody in it. Our hope is that this second will go away area for reflection, not resentment.”
The assertion went on to say, “We stay dedicated to enjoying music that reaches throughout divisions moderately than deepening them.”
Chuck Redd
The American jazz drummer and longtime host of the Kennedy Middle’s annual Christmas Jazz Jam selected to cancel his 2025 look when he “noticed the title change on the Kennedy Middle web site after which hours afterward the constructing,” in response to an announcement despatched to the Related Press.
On Dec. 27, the Kennedy Middle introduced its plan to file a $1 million lawsuit in opposition to Redd. “Any artist canceling their present on the Trump Kennedy Middle over political variations is not brave or principled—they’re egocentric, illiberal, and have failed to fulfill the fundamental obligation of a public artist: to carry out for all folks,” stated Kennedy Middle spokesperson Roma Daravi.
In a letter shared with NPR, Grenell condemned Redd: “Regrettably, your motion surrenders to the unhappy bullying techniques employed by sure parts on the left, who’ve sought to intimidate artists into boycotting performances at our nationwide cultural heart.”
Doug Varone and Dancers
“The renaming for me has sort of pushed me off a cliff,” stated choreographer Doug Varone on Dec. 31, when he spoke with NPR’s Morning Version. Varone, who was set to showcase members of his Doug Varone and Dancers firm on the Kennedy Middle in April 2026, pulled the efficiency.
John F. Kennedy, for whom the Kennedy Middle was established as a dwelling memorial, “believed within the arts as sort of the beating coronary heart of our nation,” stated Varone.
“I consider that the extent of artistry has dropped drastically because the administration change, and the workers that have been accountable for the standard of the work on the heart have all been let go.”
After canceling, the corporate began a crowdfunding marketing campaign to assist offset its monetary loss. It raised over $42,000, exceeding its $40,000 objective.
Magpie
In a assertion posted to Fb on Jan. 5, Greg Artzner of the American people duo Magpie introduced the choice to tug their Feb. 28 live performance, set to play on the Kennedy Middle’s Millennium Stage.
“There is not actually something defensible” about Trump, stated the assertion from Artzner and Magpie’s Terry Leonino. Though that they had deliberate a night of songs with messages of unity and hope, “We’re personally and philosophically in settlement with the assumption underlying the rising boycott,” they stated. “The stand being taken by fellow artists we respect and admire has created an ethical picket line. We stand with them in solidarity.”
An replace on Jan. 9 stated that Magpie would now be performing an extended model of that live performance on Feb. 21 at Seekers Church in Washington, D.C., now referred to as, “The Touring John F. Kennedy Middle for the Performing Arts Restoration Roadshow.”
Kristy Lee
Folks singer Kristy Lee canceled her Jan. 14 Kennedy Middle efficiency resulting from “current efforts to impose political branding on the Middle,” in response to a assertion posted on her web site.
“Public arts areas must be free from political affect,” Lee stated in her assertion. “I step again out of respect for inventive freedom and the Kennedy Middle’s founding mission, not in opposition to its workers, artists, or viewers.”
On Jan. 14, hosted a live-streamed live performance as a substitute, titled “Exhibiting Up: From the Kennedy Middle to the Sofa.”
Low Minimize Connie
Philadelphia rock and roll band Low Minimize Connie pulled their live performance, set for February 2025, “Upon studying that this establishment that has run non-partisan for 54 years is now chaired by President Trump himself and his regime,” in response to a assertion posted on their Fb web page.
“Possibly my profession will undergo from this determination,” wrote band frontman Adam Weiner, “however my soul would be the higher for it.”
Rhiannon Giddens
In Feb. 2025, people singer Rhiannon Giddens introduced her departure from the Kennedy Middle lineup in a social media assertion. “I can’t in good conscience play at The Kennedy with the current programming adjustments compelled on the establishment by this new board,” wrote Giddens.
Giddens transferred her Might 11 live performance, “Previous-Time Revue,” to The Anthem live performance corridor, additionally in Washington, D.C.
Balún
The Puerto Rican band, based mostly in Brooklyn in New York Metropolis, canceled their Kennedy Middle efficiency, which had been set for Feb. 27, 2025.
In line with an announcement posted to Balún’s Instagram account, “current occasions made it clear that the area not aligns with our values. Our security, integrity, and dedication to justice come first.”
Issa Rae attends HBO’s ultimate season premiere of “Insecure” at Kenneth Hahn Park on Oct. 21, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.
Kevin Winter/Getty Photographs
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Kevin Winter/Getty Photographs
Issa Rae
“Thanks a lot for promoting out the Kennedy Middle for ‘An Night With [Me],'” wrote Issa Rae, the acclaimed star and creator of HBO’s Insecure, on her Instagram tales web page in February 2025. “Sadly, resulting from what I consider to be an infringement on the values of an establishment that has faithfully celebrated artists of all backgrounds by all mediums, I’ve determined to cancel my look at this venue.”
“Hamilton”
In March 2025, Hamilton producer Jeffrey Vendor introduced on X that the Tony-award successful musical phenomenon would not run as scheduled on the Kennedy Middle. In line with the assertion, the choice was made each for political and for enterprise causes. Not solely was there “a brand new spirit of partisanship,” the assertion learn partially, however “it might be “financially and personally devastating to the workers of Hamilton if the brand new management of the Kennedy Middle out of the blue canceled or re-negotiated our engagement. The actions of the brand new Chairman of the Board in current weeks show that contracts and former agreements merely can’t be trusted.”
The Kennedy Middle was swift to reply to Hamilton‘s cancellation. On X in a now-deleted publish, Richard Grenell accused Hamilton star and creator Lin Manuel-Miranda of being “illiberal of people that do not agree with him politically,” and acknowledged that the choice was “a publicity stunt that may backfire.”
For the reason that present’s cancellation on the Middle, Hamilton has continued to promote out theaters on Broadway and in venues nationwide who host its North American touring firm.
U.S. Marine Band
The U.S. Marine Band introduced in February 2025 that the Marine Band wouldn’t carry out within the Fairness Arc Wind Symphony occasion, a collaboration between Marine Band members and chosen highschool musicians.
The U.S. Marine Band, recognized additionally as “The President’s Personal” was based by an Act of Congress in 1798, making it the nation’s oldest skilled music group.
Composer Kevin Charoensri, whose music had been scheduled to be carried out by the band on the occasion, acknowledged in a Fb publish that Range, Fairness, and Inclusion (DEI) orders resulted within the cancellation of the Fairness Arc live performance:
“It has come to my consideration that this system, one based mostly on fairness and variety of voices, is not supported on the federal stage underneath this administration,” Charoensri wrote. “It was because of this that this system and efficiency have been canceled.”
Members of the Marine Band anticipate Deputy Secretary of Protection Patrick Shanahan and Performing Minister of Nationwide Protection of Afghanistan Lieutenant Normal Tariq Shah Bahrami to take part in an honor cordon exterior the Pentagon on Nov. 20, 2017 in Washington, D.C.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP through Getty Photographs
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Brendan Smialowski/AFP through Getty Photographs
With extra reporting by Chloe Veltman, Ayana Archie, Elizabeth Blair, Andrew Limbong, Anastasia Tsioulcas and Kristin Wright. Edited by Jennifer Vanasco.
