Sep 3, 2026 10:44 AM
In Memoriam: Cassandra Wilson, 1955–2026
Cassandra Wilson, a singer, songwriter and producer who was one of the most acclaimed and successful jazz vocalists of…
When Chuck Redd canceled his Christmas Eve show on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, it led to a national media firestorm.
(Photo: Courtesy Chuck Redd)Victory has been declared in the case of the jazz man who balked. Chuck Redd, the vibraphonist sued by the Kennedy Center for canceling his annual Christmas Eve performance at the Washington, D.C., arts venue, saw the $1 million case against him dismissed on June 5 by a Superior Court judge.
Judge Tanya M. Jones Bosier also ruled that the Kennedy Center’s lawsuit violated the capital’s laws against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP), meaning that the dismissal was with prejudice (i.e., it cannot be appealed or refiled) and that the center would also be required to pay Redd’s court costs.
“I’m very pleased with this verdict,” Redd told DownBeat on June 7.
Redd, who led a performance and jam session on the Kennedy Center’s free Millennium Stage every Christmas Eve from 2006 to 2024, canceled his 2025 show in protest against the center’s renaming itself after President Donald Trump. The cancellation led to a national media firestorm, with other artists subsequently canceling their bookings as well and the center’s then-President Ric Grenell ultimately filing the breach of contract suit on the Kennedy Center’s behalf.
The lawsuit alleged that Redd’s cancellation had resulted in the Kennedy Center sustaining damages “from lost good will with the public, wasted marketing expenses, and sunk costs preparing for a concert that did not occur.”
In his response to the lawsuit, Redd demonstrated that he had never signed a contract with the Kennedy Center. Judge Bosier also noted that because the concert had been a free event, the Center had incurred no losses of revenue. She granted Redd’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit under the District of Columbia’s anti-SLAPP statute.
In a separate lawsuit, a D.C. federal judge has also ruled that Trump’s name was added to the center unlawfully and ordered it to be removed from all Kennedy Center signage and other assets. DB
Wilson’s ability to connect to audiences helped her to win two Grammy awards and multiple other accolades. She was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2022.
Sep 3, 2026 10:44 AM
Cassandra Wilson, a singer, songwriter and producer who was one of the most acclaimed and successful jazz vocalists of…
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