Kennedy Center New Year’s Eve Concerts Canceled After Trump Name Added. New Year’s Eve concerts at the Kennedy Center were canceled after the venue was renamed to include Donald Trump, prompting renewed backlash from artists. The veteran jazz ensemble The Cookers announced it was withdrawing from two scheduled performances, citing jazz’s roots in freedom of expression and resistance. The Kennedy Center had promoted the shows as a major New Year’s Eve highlight, describing the group as an all-star jazz septet set to ignite the stage. Richard Grenell, the newly appointed Kennedy Center president and a longtime Trump ally, dismissed the cancellations as political stunts linked to previous leadership. The Cookers’ decision followed other recent withdrawals, including a Christmas Eve jazz concert and upcoming spring performances by a New York dance company. Democratic lawmakers criticized the renaming as illegal, while the family of John F. Kennedy said the move undermined his legacy. The center’s board, reshaped earlier this year with Trump allies, voted to rename the venue the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Trump has said the changes are part of his effort to confront what he calls liberal bias in cultural institutions, while critics argue the moves politicize the arts.