The Grammys (Feb 1, 2026)

The Grammys

More and more musicians and celebrities are using their fame to denounce the Federal government’s brutality against its own people, sparked by the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti… and what better platform to use than to use the national broadcast of the 68th Grammy Awards.

Practically everyone had something negative to say about Donald Trump’s I.C.E. The biggest name speaking out is Puerto Rican-American Bad Bunny, who won the grand award for Album of the Year. In his acceptance speech, he had some strong words to say about ICE:

Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out. We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens – we’re humans. The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that’s more powerful than hate is love, so, please, we need to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love.

It’s not over – expect a sequel with Bad Bunny playing the Super Bowl LX next Sunday (Feb 8), with anti-Trumper band Green Day.

Meanwhile, British singer Olivia Dean (Best New Artist) said, “I’m up here as the grand-daughter of an immigrant. I’m a product of bravery and I think those people deserve to be celebrated. We’re nothing without each other.”

Billie Eilish (Song of the Year) noted, “I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter, and the people matter.”

SZA (Record of the Year), in her acceptance speech, said, “We’re not governed by the government, we are governed by god.”

Shaboozey (Country Duo/Group Performance) thanked his mother, who came from Nigeria, had this to say, “Immigrants built this country, so this is for them, for all children of immigrants.”

Accepting her Best R&B Performance, Kehlani just got to the point: “I hope everybody is inspired to join together as a community of artists and speak out against what’s going on. And I’m gonna leave this and say f*ck ICE!”

Not everyone spoke on stage, but there were strong support from everyone who attended the award ceremony, by wearing their ICE Out and Whistle pins on the red carpet.

Ben Folds, former Artistic Advisor of Kennedy Center (2024)

Trump Kennedy Center to Close for Two Years

I’ve been closely watching all the cancellations at the Trump Kennedy Center since 2025 and 2026. The cancellations were a form of protests. Everyone from Ben Folds to Low Cut Connie to The Cookers to Rhiannon Giddens to Hamilton Musical to Washington National Opera to Philip Glass to staffing, left the once great venue.

Donald Trump announced on Sunday (Feb 1), that they were shutting down the Trump Kennedy Center on July 4, 2026, for two years. They are spinning this as a planned renovation, but it’s clear to everyone that this move is due to the massive cancellations and weak attendance (people were protesting with their wallet by not attending).

In an interview with Meidas Touch with host Ben Meiselas, Ben Folds said:

Well, it’s really sad. The Kennedy Center had so many great missions, and it is a memorial as well. It’s as close to sacred stuff as you can get for our federal government. But aside from that, it really is playing out roughly the way that it felt it would for me a year ago [Ben Folds resigned as Artistic Advisor in Feb 2025]. I’m not saying that I understood how events would unfold exactly, but it was clearly the first step of– it was an authoritarian move. It was an authoritarian first step. Obviously, they weren’t going to start by trying to steamroll over late night comedians. They thought they would run over us first. That’s much easier because it’s close to home and they know what I knew how to do it. But now the things that are happening are no surprise because it wasn’t just him. I think people misunderstand. It’s not just him going in and wanting to book bands or something. It’s commandeering the government, the arts. Then from there, that’s expression. That’s freedom of expression. From there, you move on to the networks and to Stephen Colbert [Trump got CBS to fire Colbert] and Jimmy Kimmel [Trump got Jimmy Kimmel suspended in Sep 2025] and 60 Minutes [CBS censored/did not air a 60 Minutes report on abuse of migrants deported by the Trump administration], and you just keep steamrolling. So, I was sick on my stomach when I quit because, one, I knew they were going to run in the ground. No one that they were appointing had any experience in arts administration, but that was never the point. The point was to take that run over it, and move on. So, it’s rotting over next to the Potomac [River] in the moment, and it’s just sad.

Livin in the USA by Low Cut Connie (July 3, 2026)

Low Cut Connie Announces Protest Album

Philadelphia-based rock ‘n’ roll artist Low Cut Connie (Adam Weiner) announced his protest album Livin in the USA (available July 3rd on Contender Records).

Excerpt from Weiner’s statement about this new album:

I made this record because I am disgusted to see our country descend into an authoritarian hell, a moral vacuum, a place where art does not lead the cultural conversation.

I made this album to say f**k you to this regime, to the brutality and inhumanity of our political and tech leaders. They are a**holes with no class, taste, morality, or art in their bodies.

I made this record because I refuse to let these motherfuckers steal our art and steal our joy.

Low Cut Connie Tour Dates:

2/11 – Dallas, TX – Jambaloo
3/3 – Chicago, IL – City Winery *
3/5 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark *
3/6 – Davenport, IA – Raccoon Motel *
3/7 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club *
3/12 – St. Louis, MO – City Winery *
3/13 – Nashville, TN – City Winery *
3/20 – Pittsburgh, PA – City Winery *
3/21 – Elkton, MD – Elkton Music Hall *
3/27 – Northampton, MA – Back Porch Music Festival
4/3-7 – Little Steven’s Underground Garage Cruise
4/10 – Plymouth, MA – Spire Center for the Arts *
4/11 – Portsmouth, NH – The Press Room *
4/12 – New York, NY – City Winery *
4/17 – Lancaster, PA – West Art *
4/18 – Atlantic City, NJ – Anchor Rock Club *
4/30 – Baltimore, MD – Third Space @ Shaarei Tfiloh
* – “Livin in the USA” solo tour dates