On Tuesday, Aug. 12 -- The jazz drummer declined the gig in December, when the board at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted to attach the president's name to the building. Chuck Redd had a Christmas Eve concert booked. He would not play there.

a federally connected institution brought a lawsuit it could not win against a musician who declined to participate in the president's branding exercise, and the courts noticed.

The Kennedy Center's decision to rename itself, formally adding Trump's name to the marquee following a December 2025 board vote, triggered a wave of artist withdrawals. Redd was among those who declined to continue with scheduled engagements. What made his case unusual was what the institution did nex...