Kennedy Center Names Rock Talent Manager as Artistic Director

The Kennedy Center has named Rick Canny, a talent manager who has worked with acts including ZZ Top and former Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, as its new artistic director, NPR reported on October 10. The appointment came despite complaints from staff about Canny's business practices during his time as a consultant to the arts institution.

Canny has served as a consultant to the Kennedy Center since shortly after President Donald Trump became the institution's chairman in February 2025, according to NPR. His appointment was announced in an email to high-level staff on Thursday from Matt Floca, the center's executive director and chief operating officer.

Floca previously ran the Kennedy Center's facilities department before his promotion in March, NPR reported. He holds a degree in construction management and, unlike chief administrators at comparable performing arts venues, has no background in arts administration, programming or fundraising. In the email, Floca wrote that Canny would advise him and the leadership team on artistic strategy, business practices, talent curation and presenting, along with ticket pricing, media opportunities and programming sponsorships.

Through his firm Favor the Artist, Canny has worked with the center since April 2025, including as creative lead for the Kennedy Center Honors and the Mark Twain Prize, according to Floca's email. The firm's website lists no client roster or history. Published accounts of Canny's background show little experience programming the orchestras, dance and theater troupes, and marquee contemporary acts typically booked at a venue like the Kennedy Center, NPR reported.

Staff concerns over fees and travel

NPR obtained an internal memo written in March by the center's then-senior director of music programming, Sammy Miller, raising concerns about the fees and expenses Canny charged. The memo, sent to Floca and the center's human resources department, said that during a single month early in 2026, Canny billed thirty thousand dollars in consulting fees. In another month, he billed more than twenty-eight thousand dollars in fees and travel, including a pair of first-class round-trip flights between Los Angeles and Washington.

Miller wrote that he had tried to raise his concerns through the center's general counsel and its finance office, but that "both offices appear to be protecting Mr. Canny."

The Kennedy Center did not reply to NPR's request for comment on the staff concerns. In a statement to The New York Times on Friday, the institution said that billed amount "did not reflect Mr. Canny's current agreement," without providing specifics, and said Canny's travel expenses had been reviewed.

Neither the Kennedy Center nor Canny responded to NPR's requests for comment on the appointment, NPR reported.

A closed venue and a court fight

The appointment lands as the Kennedy Center faces one of the most turbulent stretches in its history. The venue is mostly closed, though officials say a small amount of public and educational programming will continue. The closure is being contested in federal court, and the previous head of programming lasted under a fortnight in the job in January.

Arts administrators around the country told NPR that booking for performing arts centers is done years in advance, which means seasons are planned long before opening night.

In recent public statements and court filings, the Kennedy Center has repeatedly said it is on the verge of bankruptcy, according to NPR. Last month, Trump said the institution had lost "hundreds of millions" of dollars, without offering evidence to support the claim.

The dispute has already reshaped the center's calendar. The Trump-appointed board voted to close the main building for a renovation hours after a federal judge barred it from restoring Trump's name to the building. Congress appropriated $257 million for the work last year, and Trump has said the repairs will not begin unless his name is put on the building. Last month he threatened to tear the center down.

This year's Kennedy Center Honors, the 49th, will not take place at the center at all. A spokesperson confirmed the ceremony will be held at Washington's Capital One Arena on December 7, Pollstar reported.

The appointment puts a rock-industry manager in charge of programming at a national venue whose stages are largely dark, while a federal court decides whether its proposed two-year renovation can go ahead.