For a long time, exhibiting in the United States was the ultimate goal for artists – both a rite of passage and a springboard to international recognition. But since Donald Trump's election, as he has moved to silence progressive voices in museums, universities and the media, that American dream has sprung a leak. The country now fascinates less and worries more. So much so that, in April, Rolling Stone magazine bluntly asked: "Is there a tipping point where the US stops being worth it for international acts?"

The wave of cancellations rocking the music world makes that hard to doubt. Outraged by both a stifling political climate and Trump's erratic handling of the war in Ukraine, German violinist Christian Tetzlaff called off a tour scheduled in eight US cities in February. The next month, Hungarian pianist Sir Andras Schiff announced he was canceling his American engagements for 2025 and 2026.

"Yes, indeed, there is a 'new sheriff in town,'" he wrote in a public statement. "Which has made it a very different 'town' – one that some of us no longer wish to visit. It is no longer obligatory." That same month, Canadian musician Bells Larsen decided not to promote his new album, Blurring Time, in the US after the American Federation of Musicians advised him against applying for a visa due to his gender transition. Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny also gave up performing in the US during his world tour, fearing immigration police raids at his shows.

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