Elizabeth Blair
Appearances
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-25-2025 8PM EST
Rhiannon Giddens writes on social media that her May 11th concert at the Kennedy Center was scheduled, quote, long before the current administration decided to take over this previously nonpolitical institution. Earlier this month, President Trump terminated and replaced Kennedy Center leadership, making himself chairman of the board.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-25-2025 8PM EST
Giddens says Kennedy Center tickets will be refunded and that her show will move to the D.C. venue The Anthem. Other artists who've canceled appearances include mystery writer Louise Penny, citing Trump's takeover as the reason, and the Brooklyn-based Puerto Rican band Baloon. The Kennedy Center says its new leadership has not made any programming changes. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-11-2025 4PM EDT
The statement on Billy Joel's Instagram says the singer will postpone his tour so he can recover from recent surgery and undergo physical therapy. The singer says, quote, while I regret postponing any shows, my health must come first. The statement says the tour will resume in Pittsburgh in July. Shows that will be rescheduled include dates in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-11-2025 4PM EDT
The statement says purchased tickets will be valid for the rescheduled shows.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-11-2025 4PM EDT
Joel writes he looks forward to getting back on stage and sharing the joy of live music with his fans. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-03-2025 6PM EDT
A letter from the administration says NEH grants are being terminated effective immediately because the NEH is repurposing its funding to further President Trump's agenda. The NEH supports museums, libraries, education, and history projects across the U.S. Nearly half of NEH funds goes directly to 56 state and local humanities councils.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-03-2025 6PM EDT
Caroline Lowry, head of the Oklahoma Humanities Council, says the impact will be devastating. Among its projects, oral histories from survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and archiving material from the 1995 Oklahoma bombing.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-03-2025 6PM EDT
The NEH did not respond to NPR's request for comment. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-23-2025 5PM EDT
When Adam Sandler won the Mark Twain Prize, Conan O'Brien had this to say. Good God in heaven, Kennedy Center! What have you done? Now it's O'Brien's turn. The Kennedy Center isn't revealing who's on the show to keep it a surprise. President Trump recently ousted the Kennedy Center's president, the board chair, and board members who'd been appointed by Democrats.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-23-2025 5PM EDT
Trump's new board elected him as chair. In response, a number of artists have canceled gigs. It's anyone's guess whether comedians will address the upheaval. Either way, the nation's capital could use some laughs right now. The Mark Twain Prize will stream on Netflix. The date hasn't yet been announced. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-16-2025 4PM EDT
The $50 million donation comes from philanthropists Lynn and Richard Pasqualano. The goal? Transform Lincoln Center's contemporary dance programming. In a statement, Lincoln Center says the money will support contemporary dance performances from across the globe and the next generation of dance artists.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-16-2025 4PM EDT
The center's president and CEO, Mariko Silver, notes these are challenging times for the contemporary dance community. as we continue recovering from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lincoln Center is home to Juilliard, the renowned New York City Ballet, and the School of American Ballet, both co-founded by George Balanchine. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-27-2024 8PM EST
Doing backflips on stage was one of her trademarks. Born Pelaya Ballanton, her mother was a concert pianist. DeSanto once said her father couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. She and Etta James were childhood friends who eventually recorded together.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-27-2024 8PM EST
In 2008, Sugar Pie DeSanto was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-24-2025 5PM EDT
John Mulaney said he first became a fan of Conan O'Brien's watching him on TV when he was 11.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-24-2025 5PM EDT
Other comedians who paid tribute were Nikki Glaser, Adam Sandler, Sarah Silverman, Tracy Morgan, and Will Ferrell. And a number of them made jokes about President Trump ousting Kennedy Center leaders and ending up chair of the board himself. Conan O'Brien said that accepting an award named for Mark Twain was a responsibility.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-17-2025 3PM EDT
Not long after taking office, President Trump ousted board chair and major donor David Rubenstein and eventually landed the job himself. He also ousted board members selected by President Biden because he said they didn't share his, quote, vision for a golden age of arts and culture. In his first term, Trump did not attend major events at the center. including the Kennedy Center Honors.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-17-2025 3PM EDT
Past honorees include George Clooney, Rita Moreno, and Barry Gordy. At today's board meeting, the New York Times is reporting he will propose changes to the advisory committee that selects honorees. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-14-2025 1PM EDT
Video of the incident has gone viral. Before the concert began, the booing of Vice President J.D. Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance went on for several seconds. Current Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell said on social media, "...it troubles me to see that so many in the audience appear to be white and intolerant of diverse political views."
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-14-2025 1PM EDT
He continued, we will not allow the Kennedy Center to be an intolerant place. President Trump's takeover of the institution has angered audiences and artists alike. Lin-Manuel Miranda recently canceled a production of Hamilton, originally scheduled for next year. Renee Fleming and Ben Folds left their advisory roles, and ticket sales are down. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington. It's NPR.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-04-2025 5PM EDT
A source tells NPR that nearly 80% of the National Endowment for the Humanities staff of 185 people have been placed on administrative leave, effective immediately. The agency funds museums, history, education, and preservation projects through a competitive application process. The source says a team from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been visiting the NEH offices.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-04-2025 5PM EDT
Among the NEH staff affected are people in communications, directors, and program officers. The NEH did not respond to NPR's request for comment. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington.
Up First from NPR
Myanmar Quake, Who Pays Tariffs, E.O. Impacts On Arts
The changes are many and they're ongoing. Let's start with something President Trump said this week at a Women's History Month event at the White House. It has to do with the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum, which doesn't yet have a physical building. New York Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis recently introduced legislation to locate the museum on the National Mall.
Up First from NPR
Myanmar Quake, Who Pays Tariffs, E.O. Impacts On Arts
And Trump signed an executive order this week that said in part that the Women's History Museum will, quote, not recognize men as women in any respect.
Up First from NPR
Myanmar Quake, Who Pays Tariffs, E.O. Impacts On Arts
The order says a lot. Are you ready? It says that the Smithsonian has, quote, come under the influence of a divisive race-centered ideology and that it promoted narratives that portray American and Western values and as inherently harmful and oppressive. It also says that no future federal dollars can be spent on anything that degrades shared American values.
Up First from NPR
Myanmar Quake, Who Pays Tariffs, E.O. Impacts On Arts
It goes on to say that the Department of the Interior should take a look at federal monuments to make sure they don't, quote, perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history or include any other improper partisan ideology. And it calls for reinstating monuments.
Up First from NPR
Myanmar Quake, Who Pays Tariffs, E.O. Impacts On Arts
We don't know exactly what that means, but we presume he's talking about monuments that were torn down because some people found them offensive. After the murder of George Floyd, more than 150 Confederate symbols were removed across the United States. And neither the Smithsonian nor the Department of the Interior have responded to a request for comment.
Up First from NPR
Myanmar Quake, Who Pays Tariffs, E.O. Impacts On Arts
The Kennedy Center, as you know, has multiple theaters and puts on thousands of performances and events a year. Trump has said the building needs a lot of work, but that it has tremendous potential. He has hinted at a few things he'd like to see there, a production of Cats, for example. He also suggested Elvis Presley should receive a posthumous Kennedy Center honors.
Up First from NPR
Myanmar Quake, Who Pays Tariffs, E.O. Impacts On Arts
He has also said what he doesn't want.
Up First from NPR
Myanmar Quake, Who Pays Tariffs, E.O. Impacts On Arts
The new leadership recently eliminated the Kennedy Center's Social Impact Office, which organized projects and free events for underserved communities.
Up First from NPR
Myanmar Quake, Who Pays Tariffs, E.O. Impacts On Arts
It's affecting the thousands of arts groups in every corner of the country that receive money from the National Endowment for the Arts, or the NEA. The ACLU is suing the NEA because the agency had told arts groups that they wouldn't be eligible for funding if they promoted what the Trump administration calls gender ideology, which they say is denying, quote, the biological reality of sex.
Up First from NPR
Myanmar Quake, Who Pays Tariffs, E.O. Impacts On Arts
ACLU attorney Vera Edelman says that language violates the First Amendment and also the 1965 law that created the NEA. which says in part the agency should encourage freedom of thought.
Up First from NPR
Myanmar Quake, Who Pays Tariffs, E.O. Impacts On Arts
Just a note here that NPR receives NEA grant money. Once the lawsuit was filed, the NEA removed that language from its guidelines temporarily, but they're making a final determination in mid-April.
Up First from NPR
Myanmar Quake, Who Pays Tariffs, E.O. Impacts On Arts
I talked to Holly Bass, who is a multidisciplinary artist whose work often explores her life as an African-American woman. She says lots of artists who have applied for NEA grants or who would like to are confused about language that says you can't do anything related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Up First from NPR
Myanmar Quake, Who Pays Tariffs, E.O. Impacts On Arts
Thank you, Scott. Thank you.