Rhiannon Giddens cancels 2025 Kennedy Center appearance
Award-winning singer-musician Rhiannon Giddens announced on Tuesday she is canceling her May performance at the Kennedy Center, the latest artist to seek distance from the institution in the wake of President Trump's takeover.
Earlier this month, Trump announced he was naming himself chairman of the Kennedy Center board, replacing several board members with allies.
“I cannot in good conscience play at The Kennedy Center with the change in programming direction forced on the institution by this new board,” Giddens said in a post on Instagram.
The former member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops noted that the show was “booked long before the current administration decided to take over this previously bipartisan institution.”
Giddens said she has arranged to hold the show at the Anthem, another popular concert venue in Washington, D.C.
Tickets for the show at the Anthem are currently on sale, she said, and those with tickets for the Kennedy Center performance will have their money refunded.
“Let’s make this a huge celebration for all of us who need joy and inclusion to feel human. We would love to see you! Same day, same time, and just down the street,” she wrote.
Giddens is the latest artist to part ways with the Kennedy Center following Trump’s move.
Actress and writer Issa Rae has also canceled a Kennedy Center show, while the center itself has nixed a scheduled performance from the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, one of the oldest LGBTQ choral organizations in the U.S.
Musician Ben Folds said he would resign as artistic adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra, “given developments at the Kennedy Center.” And award-winning opera singer and actor Renée Fleming said she would depart from her role as artistic adviser at large to the Kennedy Center.
Shonda Rhimes, the renowned television writer and producer, also reportedly resigned from the board after serving as the Kennedy Center’s treasurer.
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