Macklemore Sets 'Free Palestine' Tour After Sheeran Drop — SkimNews
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- Macklemore announced a "Free Palestine" headlining tour: Dublin on Oct. 26 at 3Arena, Paris on Oct. 29 at Ancor Arena, and London on Oct. 30 at OVO Arena Wembley, with all proceeds going to organizations supporting the Palestinian people and movement and U.S. dates to be announced later.
- Macklemore said on Instagram he was removed from Ed Sheeran's stadium tour earlier this month because Robert Kraft, owner of Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, told Sheeran he didn't want Macklemore speaking out against Israel at the show.
- Ed Sheeran continued his tour solo on Saturday in Philadelphia after every opener dropped off the bill in support of Macklemore, telling the crowd his concerts have "always been a safe space for everyone" and that honoring fans is "completely essential" to who he is.
- Macklemore wrote that he has spent the past week recruiting artists who have "used their stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, regardless of the consequences," though he did not name them because he is still working out the details.
- Macklemore framed the dispute as a free-speech issue bigger than himself: "When the billionaire class can decide which voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear, everyone should be paying attention."
Why it matters: The dispute turned a routine stadium booking into a free-speech flashpoint: Kraft's reported intervention triggered every Sheeran opener to drop in solidarity, forcing Sheeran to play a sold-out Philadelphia date on Saturday without support acts. With Macklemore now independently headlining three European arenas and donating all proceeds to Palestinian organizations, both the gate revenue and the precedent for who programs major concert stages are now openly contested.
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