A six-piece jazz group called the Cookers just pulled out of two New Year’s Eve performances at the Kennedy Center, joining what has become a steady stream of artists refusing to perform at the venue since Donald Trump slapped his name on the building and installed himself as chairman.

WHAT’S GOING ON: The exodus is real and accelerating. The Cookers, whose drummer Billy Hart told The New York Times that Trump’s involvement was “evidently” a factor, wrote on their website that “Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice.”

Meanwhile, Doug Varone and Dancers, a New York dance company, announced they’re canceling two April performances—a decision that will cost them $40,000.

“It is financially devastating but morally exhilarating,” Varone told the Times.

THE DETAILS: Trump filled the Kennedy Center’s board with allies, made himself chairman, and just last week had his name physically installed on the building’s exterior—over objections from the Kennedy family.

The results have been predictable: subscription rates are reportedly down about 50% from where they should be, according to former Kennedy Center dance director Jane Raleigh.

Folk singer Kristy Lee, who recently canceled a January performance, put it simply on social media: “Losing my integrity would cost me more than any paycheck.”

OF COURSE: The Kennedy Center’s response to artists exercising their conscience has been exactly what you’d expect from the MAGA crowd.

When asked for comment, the center pointed to a post from its president, Richard Grenell, who wrote on X: “Boycotting the Arts to show you support the Arts is a form of derangement syndrome.” (Classic.) Grenell has spent months complaining that artists pulling out amounts to “intolerance” of Republicans.

And in a truly authoritarian move, the Kennedy Center is now suing jazz musician Chuck Redd for $1 million for canceling a Christmas Eve show.

WHY IT MATTERS: One performer told NOTUS what’s really at stake: “Kennedy Center is supposed to be a memorial, focusing on being nonpartisan. A place where people, it doesn’t matter what party they believe in, should be performing and experiencing the arts together regardless of what their party is. And it has not become that.”

BOTTOM LINE: Trump took a beloved national arts institution, plastered his name on it, and is now shocked—SHOCKED—that artists don’t want to perform there. The artists are voting with their feet, and it’s costing them real money.

But as Varone noted, some things matter more than a paycheck. The Kennedy Center is learning that you can force your name onto a building, but you can’t force artists to legitimize the spectacle.

See the list here – we’ll update as new ones are added.

Official compiled list (over 20 shows)

• The Kennedy Center released a list in March 2025 confirming more than 20 shows canceled or postponed in the previous six months, breaking them down as 15 canceled by artists/availability, 4 for low sales/financial reasons, and 2 postponed.​
• That list (summarized in several articles) explicitly names: the planned 2026 run of “Hamilton”, Jonathan Spector’s play “Eureka Day,” and an LGBTQ‑themed project, the National Symphony’s adaptation of “A Peacock Among Pigeons,” among the canceled or “financially” dropped programs.​

Named protest cancellations tied to Trump takeover/renaming

These are shows where artists or organizations explicitly cited Trump’s takeover or the renaming as the reason:

• Annual Christmas Eve “Jazz Jams” led by vibraphonist Chuck Redd (canceled; now subject of a Kennedy Center lawsuit seeking damages).​
• Two New Year’s Eve concerts by The Cookers (jazz septet) at the Terrace Theater.​
• Doug Varone and Dancers – two April performances canceled by the company in protest.​
• Kristy Lee – a free concert on January 14 canceled by the singer, who publicly linked the decision to the renaming and political branding.​
• “Hamilton” 2026 engagement – producers withdrew, saying they “cannot presently support” the institution after Trump’s takeover.​
• An Evening with Issa Rae – sold‑out talk/event canceled by Issa Rae herself over concerns about Trump chairing the Center.​
• Low Cut Connie – rock band canceled a Social Impact series concert over Trump’s leadership and politicization.​
• American College Theater Festival – long‑running affiliation with the Center suspended in protest (not a single show but a whole educational partnership).​

Other canceled or “financially” dropped titles

These are in the Center’s own cancellation/postponement list or follow‑up coverage, with financial reasons sometimes contested by critics:

• “Eureka Day” (anti‑vax debate play) – canceled, officially for financial reasons.​
• “A Peacock Among Pigeons” (LGBTQ‑affirming children’s story adaptation with the NSO) – canceled or removed from schedule.​
• “Finn” children’s musical tour – canceled before the takeover but later discussed in the same context; creators said they were told it was for financial reasons.​
• Additional unnamed concerts and programs across music, theater, and education that make up the >20‑show tally; several of these had progressive or queer‑inclusive themes.​

Newest wave at year’s end 2025

• Late‑December reporting tallies at least 26 canceled performances in 2025, with roughly 15 artist‑initiated and the rest attributed to sales/finances, and confirms that the New Year’s Eve, Christmas Eve, Jan. 14, and April dates above are part of that batch.​
• Reporting this week notes that “more artists” (not all named individually) have recently pulled out, and that the list is still expanding, which is why no outlet will call any list absolutely complete.

We’ll update more as they come in.