Béla Fleck has announced that he has withdrawn from performing at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. A growing list of artists have refused to perform at the Center in the wake of Donald Trump’s name being added to the venue.
The banjo player was scheduled to perform with the National Symphony Orchestra on February 19, 21 and 22 for the world premiere of ‘American Mosaic,’ which is described on the Center’s website as “a true celebration of American music.”
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“I have withdrawn from my upcoming performance with the NSO at The Kennedy Center. Performing there has become charged and political, at an institution where the focus should be on the music,” Fleck wrote on X.
“I look forward to playing with the NSO another time in the future when we can together share and celebrate art,” he added.
The Center has also updated the listing for the concerts with a note that acknowledges Fleck’s decision not to perform. “Due to personal issues Béla Fleck regrettably has to withdraw from his performances with the National Symphony Orchestra on February 19, 21 & 22, 2026. American Mosaic will now feature NSO Principal Clarinet Lin Ma performing Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto. The rest of the program will remain the same,” reads the note.
Béla Fleck joins other artists refusing to perform at the Kennedy Center
Fleck is one of many other artists who have recently canceled their appearance at the Kennedy Center. Some of them withdrew after Trump’s name was added alongside John F. Kennedy’s at the venue.
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Among those who have decided not to perform at the Center is songwriter Stephen Schwartz, who said last week that “it no longer represents the apolitical place for free artistic expression it was founded to be” and that “there’s no way I would set foot in it now.”
Veteran jazz septet the Cookers and dance troupe Dog Varone and Dancers also canceled their performances.