Music

• Béla Fleck Withdraws From Kennedy Center Concerts - “Performing there has become charged and political,” the 18-time Grammy winner said.
• Stephen Schwartz Criticizes Kennedy Center, Saying He Won’t Host Gala - The Washington National Opera said the “Wicked” composer was scheduled to host its annual event at the center this spring.
• K-Pop Group NewJeans Faces New Uncertainty After Member Is Dropped - The band’s label said it had dropped one of the girl group’s five members. NewJeans’s legal battle has drawn public scrutiny of the K-pop industry.
• More Kennedy Center Performances Are Canceled After Trump’s Renaming - A dance company withdrew from two performances next year, and the arts center’s website says two New Year’s Eve jazz concerts have been canceled.
• More Kennedy Center Performances Are Canceled After Trump’s Renaming - A dance company withdrew from two performances next year, and the arts center’s website says two New Year’s Eve jazz concerts have been canceled.
• Good Calls - This week, we close out the year with your best advice of 2025.
• ‘Carol of the Bells’ Once Filled the Air Here. Now It’s Only Bombs. - Mykola Leontovych, the Ukrainian composer of the famed festive song, lived in the eastern city of Pokrovsk. Months of Russian assaults have erased most tributes to his life there.
• Kennedy Center’s Christmas Eve Jazz Show Canceled After Trump Name Added to Building - Chuck Redd, a jazz musician, said he canceled his annual concert after President Trump’s name was affixed to the Washington building’s facade.