Kennedy Center cancels Christmas Eve jazz concert after Trump's name added to building
A longtime Christmas Eve jazz concert at the Kennedy Center has been canceled, ending a holiday tradition that stretched back more than two decades. Musician Chuck Redd, who has hosted the annual performance for years, said he decided to call off the show after the White House announced that President Donald Trump’s name would be added to the iconic performing arts complex. The decision came shortly after the building’s exterior signage was changed to read “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” a move approved by the center’s newly reshaped board and promoted by the administration after months of public signals that the president was open to altering the center’s name.
Redd, a respected drummer and vibraphone player who has performed with jazz legends including Dizzy Gillespie and Ray Brown, said the name change crossed a line for him personally and professionally. He has overseen the Kennedy Center’s holiday “Jazz Jams” since 2006, continuing a tradition begun by bassist William “Keter” Betts. After seeing the revised name appear first online and then on the building itself, Redd said he made the decision to cancel the concert. The Kennedy Center’s website now lists the Christmas Eve performance as canceled, and officials did not immediately comment on the decision.
The controversy has reignited long-standing legal and historical debates surrounding the Kennedy Center’s status. The venue was established by Congress as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy following his assassination in 1963, with legislation explicitly barring the building from serving as a memorial to any other individual or displaying another name on its exterior. Several historians and legal scholars have argued that any such change would require congressional approval. Members of the Kennedy family have also objected, with relatives vowing to pursue the removal of Trump’s name once his presidency ends.
The episode is the latest flashpoint in a broader transformation of the Kennedy Center under Trump’s second term. The president has taken a far more active role in the institution than in his first term, reshaping its leadership, replacing board members, and installing himself as board chair. He also personally hosted this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, breaking with decades of tradition in which presidents largely remained in the background. These changes have drawn sharp criticism from artists and cultural figures, some of whom have canceled planned appearances in protest, citing concerns about politicization and the administration’s stated campaign against what it describes as “woke” culture within federal arts institutions.
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