A man with a bald head and glasses, wearing a military-style uniform with a chevron patch on the sleeve, plays a drum set. His drumsticks are raised over a stack of cymbals, and other brass band members are blurred in the dark background. — Sgt. 1st Class Todd Harrison with the U.S. Jazz Ambassadors in Emmaus, Penn. Credit: U.S. Military

Pete Hegseth likes to talk shit about his own troops but has yet to label jazz as too gay for the armed forces. That still didn’t stop the enshitification of American democracy from canceling this sweet gig that was supposed to happen in Tampa this weekend.

The U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors is a 19-piece band that’s been the cream of the crop for big band for nearly six decades now.

It perform standards, patriotic songs, contemporary jazz and even original work by members and has even played every state in the union and are alumni of prestigious festivals worldwide including Boston Pops and jazz festivals in Newport, Toronto and Montreux.

A no-cover show was supposed to happen Friday, Oct. 17 at downtown Tampa’s David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts, but a press release says the show has been canceled. “Due to a lapse in appropriations by the federal government.”

Republicans—who currently control the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, and White House—are still trying to blame Democrats for the the shutdown of the U.S. government, which is now in its third week.

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This article appears in Oct. 16 – 22, 2025.