Photo Credit: Clay Elliot
Cancellations at the newly Trump-renamed Kennedy Center are piling up as artists pull out of performing at the venue following a controversial decision to add Trump’s name to the memorial building.
The Kennedy Center previously promoted two New Year’s Eve jazz performances by the Cookers, but those performances and the annual Christmas Eve jazz concert by Chuck Redd were cancelled. The Cookers did not cite a reason for their decision in a statement.
“Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice,” the statement reads. Speaking with The New York Times, the band’s drummer Billy Hart confirmed that the renaming of the Kennedy Center played a role in the decision to cancel their performances.
Meanwhile, Doug Varone and Dancers, a New York dance company, also cancelled two performances scheduled for April. Doug Varone confirmed that he would lose $40,000 by pulling out of the performances. “It is financially devastating but morally exhilarating,” Varone confirmed to the New York Times in an email.
Alabama folk singer Kristy Lee, who was set to perform a free show on January 14, is also among the list of artists who have pulled out. “I won’t lie to you, canceling shows hurts,” Lee said in an Instagram post announcing the decision last week.
“This is how I keep the lights on. But losing my integrity would cost me more than any paycheck. 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 at night.”
These cancellations arrive hot on the heels of a threatened lawsuit from Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell. Grenell has threatened legal action against Chuck Redd for canceling the Christmas Eve show, saying the center would seek $1 million+ in damages for what Grenell calls a “political stunt.” Grenell has not commented publicly on any of this new wave of cancellations.
