Béla Fleck is the latest artist to cancel his appearance at the Kennedy Center, citing the “charged and political” atmosphere that now hangs over the institution.
The 19-time Grammy Award-winning banjoist and bandleader was booked to play with the National Symphony Orchestra in February, but is now part of a growing artist exodus, triggered by president Donald Trump’s takeover.
“I have withdrawn from my upcoming performance with the NSO at The Kennedy Center,” reads a social post from Fleck. “Performing there has become charged and political, at an institution where the focus should be on the music. I look forward to playing with the NSO another time in the future when we can together share and celebrate art.”
As previously reported, the month of December was an particularly eventful one for the Kennedy Center, during which time the venue was controversially renamed Trump-Kennedy Center, with new signage installed. Then came the boycotts, the threat of retaliatory lawsuits, and the Dec. 23 broadcast of the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, which delivered all-time low ratings.
Efforts to rename the Kennedy Center, reportedly approved by its board, could face legal hurdles. The original laws that guided the creation of the Kennedy Center specifically prohibited the renaming of the building. It would take an act of Congress to change that now.
That board looks a lot different than it did a year ago. In February 2025, Trump abruptly fired members and installed himself as chair, writing in a post on Truth Social at the time, “At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN.”
Weeks later, the newly installed members of the Kennedy Center board, handpicked by Trump, officially elected Trump as board chair.
Politically, Fleck sits at the other end of the spectrum from Trump’s far-right MAGA movement. In 2020, the celebrated artist performed at rallies for Bernie Sanders, the progressive senator from Vermont.
Celebrities who have disassociated themselves from the Kennedy Center last year include Rhiannon Giddens, Issa Rae, Renee Fleming, Shonda Rhimes and Ben Folds. The landmark musical Hamilton and play Eureka Day also scrapped performances at the center, while jazz supergroup The Cookers pulled out of a planned New Year’s Eve concert, and musician Chuck Redd canceled a Christmas Eve performance.
Fleck’s touring plans for 2026 remain unaffected, and kick off Jan. 31 at Celtic Connections in Glasgow. Scotland.
