Weeks after being dropped from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour for saying “free Palestine” on stage, Macklemore is launching a tour of his own, and all three shows sold out the moment tickets went on sale. Meanwhile, Sheeran’s shows at Robert Kraft’s Gillette Stadium have been called off altogether.
As AMUST reported last month, the rapper was removed from Sheeran’s eight remaining US dates. Kraft, who owns Gillette Stadium and the New England Patriots, had rallied venue owners behind an ultimatum.
All four of Sheeran’s remaining support acts quit in solidarity, and a wave of artists and public figures spoke out in support. Macklemore then pledged his entire $1 million in tour earnings to six Palestinian aid organisations.
Gillette Stadium shows cancelled
In the latest twist, Sheeran’s concerts at Gillette Stadium, the venue at the centre of the controversy, have been cancelled because of severe weather.
Messina Touring, Sheeran’s touring group, said in an Instagram statement that the decision followed severe weather warnings across Boston and New England throughout the weekend and consultation with local officials.
The venue shared the same statement. All tickets will be refunded through their point of purchase.
The Free Palestine Tour
Macklemore, meanwhile, has turned his removal into momentum. In an Instagram post announcing the Free Palestine Tour, he said something had shifted over the past three years. He pointed to “a collective awakening around Palestinian liberation” and to the power of billionaires who try to censor that call.
“It’s 2026. Being apolitical during a genocide doesn’t work anymore,” the rapper wrote. “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.”
With a wry nod to his cancelled dates, he noted that his “schedule freed up a bit.” He said he had spent the past week reaching out to artists who have used their stages to stand with Palestinians “regardless of the consequences.”
The tour opens at Dublin’s 3Arena on 26 October, followed by Paris Accor Arena on 29 October and wrapping up at London’s Wembley Arena on 30 October. US dates and the artist line-up will be announced soon. All proceeds will go to organisations supporting the Palestinian people and movement.
Presale opened on Monday 28 September 2026, with general sales following on Wednesday 30 September. Fans can sign up for updates at macklemore.com.
Sold out immediately
All three shows sold out as soon as tickets went on sale, even though not a single supporting artist had yet been announced. Fans committed to the shows on the strength of the cause alone.
“I’m honestly blown away,” Macklemore wrote on Instagram on Wednesday 30 September. “We put these shows together fast and in community, believing that musicians can stand in solidarity with Palestine, use the stage to raise funds and show what collective action can look like.”
He thanked fans in Dublin, Paris and London for “showing up the way you did,” calling the response “another reminder of how many people across the world are standing together for a free Palestine.”
The sell-out points to a turning tide in public support for Palestine. A rapper removed from a stadium tour for two words has filled arenas across three European capitals in a single day, a sign that audiences are increasingly willing to back artists who speak out rather than those who stay silent.
“When those in power try to silence our calls for liberation, art will always be a form of resistance,” he wrote, adding that line-ups are coming soon.
As Macklemore put it, artists’ platforms “mean very little if we’re only willing to use them when it’s safe.”
Comments