New Year’s Eve concerts canceled at Kennedy Center following name change

The Kennedy Center’s recent name change has already sparked backlash, including the cancellation of a Christmas concert. Now, two New Year’s Eve performances scheduled at the once-prestigious Washington, DC venue have also been scrapped, reportedly in response to the board’s decision to rebrand the institution as “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

According to The New York Times, the canceled shows were set to feature the jazz supergroup The Cookers. In a statement, the band emphasized jazz’s roots in resistance and self-determination, writing, “Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice.” Speaking separately to The Times, Cookers drummer Billy Hart said the name change “evidently” played a role in the group’s decision to withdraw, adding that they were also worried about potential reprisals.

Ahead of the official cancellation, Cookers saxophonist Billy Harper voiced his opposition in a Facebook post, saying he would “never even consider performing in a venue bearing a name (and being controlled by the kind of board) that represents overt racism and deliberate destruction of African American music and culture.” Harper went on to invoke the legacy of jazz figures he worked alongside, including Max Roach, Randy Weston, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Stanley Cowell, writing that they “would be turning in their graves” to see him perform under such circumstances and betray what they fought and sacrificed for.

Several other artists have cut ties with the Kennedy Center since Trump’s takeover of the venue, including Rhiannon Giddens, Ben Folds, and Renée Fleming. A touring production of Hamilton will also no longer play the center.