Annual MLK Concert Relocates From Kennedy Center After 23 Years

The long-running Let Freedom Ring MLK concert will relocate from the Kennedy Center to the Howard Theatre in 2026, with organizers citing cost savings and broader changes at the arts institution. According to reporting by NPR, Let Freedom Ring, the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day concert held in Washington, D.C., will no longer take place at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after more than two decades.

Produced by Georgetown University, the concert has been staged at the Kennedy Center for 23 years and has featured performances by artists including Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, and Chaka Khan. The event traditionally includes a choir made up of singers from area churches and Georgetown University and celebrates the life and legacy of Dr. King through music and spoken word.

Organizers confirmed that the 2026 concert will instead be held at Washington’s historic Howard Theatre. Georgetown University cited cost savings as the primary reason for the move. This year’s event is headlined by Common.

President Trump has previously criticized past Kennedy Center programming as 'woke' and issued executive orders calling for the elimination of diversity-focused cultural initiatives, despite admitting he had never seen a show there.

The Kennedy Center separately announced that its own MLK Day programming next week will feature the Missionary Kings of Harmony of The United House of Prayer for All People’s Anacostia congregation.

This follows other cancellations include The Washington National Opera which has announced it will move its performances out of the Kennedy Center, ending an affiliation that has spanned more than 50 years. Those withdrawals include jazz musician Chuck Redd, jazz ensemble The Cookers, Grammy-winning banjo player Béla Fleck - who canceled three appearances with the National Symphony Orchestra - and composer Stephen Schwartz, who had been expected to host an opera gala.