More artists have announced they are backing out of upcoming dates at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in protest of President Donald Trump’s takeover, and recent potentially illegal renaming of the institution as the Trump-Kennedy Center.
Jazz supergroup The Cookers announced on its website it will not be performing across a series of two New Year’s Eve concerts.
“Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice,” the group wrote in a statement. “Some of us have been making this music for many decades, and that history still shapes us.”
“I 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,” Billy Harper, a saxophonist in the group, reportedly added in a statement to Jazz Stage.
The Doug Varone and Dancers troupe on Monday added that it will not carry out a planned April performance at the center.
The group wrote in a statement on Instagram that while it opposed the president’s decision to replace the center’s bipartisan board in February with a group of allies who later installed him as chairman, it initially still planned to carry out the engagement. That changed when center’s board voted earlier this month to rebrand the institution the Trump-Kennedy Center, according to the statement.
“We can no longer permit ourselves nor ask our audiences to step inside this once great institution,” the statement said. “The Kennedy Center was named in honor of our 35th President who fervently believed that the arts were the beating heart of our nation, as well as an integral part of international diplomacy. We hope in three-year’s time, that the Center and its reputation will return to that glory.”
The Independent has contacted the Kennedy Center and the White House for comment.
“The artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far left leadership,” Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell wrote on X on Monday.
“Their actions prove that the previous team was more concerned about booking far left political activists rather than artists willing to perform for everyone regardless of their political beliefs. Boycotting the Arts to show you support the Arts is a form of derangement syndrome. The arts are for everyone and the left is mad about it,” he added.
The wave of cancellations follows the news that drummer and vibraphonist Chuck Redd canceled a longstanding Christmas Eve jazz concert at the center in protest of the name change.
In response, the head of the Kennedy Center has demanded $1 million from Redd, calling the move a “political stunt.”
“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment — explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure — is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” Kennedy Center President Grenell reportedly wrote in a letter to Redd, which was obtained by the Washington Post.
Cookers drummer Billy Hart, told The New York Times the group was concerned about possible reprisals against them over their cancellation.
Artists, including Issa Rae, Peter Wolf, and Lin-Manuel Miranda have also withdrawn from Kennedy Center performances since Trump returned to office.
Kennedy family members and Democratic lawmakers have criticized the Trump administration’s decision to rename the Kennedy Center, which was established by law and can only be renamed by Congress, according to legal observers.
The president has argued he saved the center from disrepair. He has shown an unusual interest for a president in the day-to-day operations and aesthetics of the institution, touting potential design changes including marble arm rests.
Last week, Trump became the first president to host the annual Kennedy Center honors, though the event reportedly had 35 percent fewer viewers than last year.
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