Macklemore announced the Free Palestine Tour on Thursday, September 24, through Instagram. Three shows are set for Dublin on October 26, Paris on October 29 and London on October 30. The London date is at OVO Arena Wembley.
Unannounced special guests will join him. For now, the billing reads “Macklemore and Friends.” He said US dates will be announced later.
In his caption, he said many conversations, schedules and details were still being worked out because the plan came together so quickly. He also said he spent the past week contacting artists who had publicly backed Palestinians and were willing to use their platforms despite the risks.
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Where the money goes
All proceeds will go to charity. Macklemore picked 12 organisations to receive the money. They are:
– Anera
– Glia
– Gaza Soup Kitchen
– Taawon
– HEAL Palestine
– Palestinian Youth Movement
– Middle East Children’s Alliance
– Jewish Voice for Peace
– Medical Aid for Palestinians
– Institute for Middle East Understanding
– Palestine Children’s Relief Fund
– UNRWA USA
Live Nation described the tour as a series of performances that centre Palestine and Palestinians and help provide humanitarian aid. The reports reviewed do not give ticket prices or on-sale dates.
Why he was dropped from the Sheeran tour
The tour follows a dispute on Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour. Macklemore was removed as opener after making “Free Palestine” speeches at two concerts at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
One of those speeches was on September 4. He said he wanted people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to know they had not been forgotten. He led the crowd in a “Free Palestine” chant. Also, he performed his protest song “Hind’s Hall,” with images of the destruction in Gaza on screen.
The tour promoter, Messina Touring Group, later said Macklemore would not play the remaining dates. Venues had indicated they would not allow shows with him. The promoter said keeping him could have led to cancellations of the remaining shows.
The Kraft claim
Macklemore said Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft refused to let him play at the venue. He said Kraft was allegedly talking to other stadium owners about banning him too, which forced the promoters to drop him.
Kraft responded that he and Sheeran would each donate $2 million to aid in the region. No specific organisations were named. The reports reviewed carry the Kraft claim as Macklemore’s account and describe it as alleged.
The $1 million donation
After he was dropped, Macklemore said he would donate the full $1 million he earned from the tour to organisations supporting Palestine. The charity tour is a separate effort from that donation.
Sheeran’s statements and the backlash
Sheeran first responded with a written statement. He declined responsibility for the decision and said he was not complicit. His statement also explained why he does not speak out on political issues. It set off widespread backlash.
He spoke again at the first Loop show after the removal, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on September 19. He called the situation a humanitarian issue. And, he described the October 7 attack at the Nova Music Festival as horrific. He also called what is happening in Gaza catastrophic, unjustifiable and disproportionate.
Other acts pull out
The remaining support acts left the tour after Macklemore’s removal. They were Irish songwriter Aaron Rowe, Finneas, Danish band Lukas Graham and Irish trad group Beoga. No one opened for Sheeran at the Philadelphia show, because the other supporting acts had pulled out in solidarity before it.
What Macklemore said
In his Instagram post, Macklemore said the past few weeks showed that something had shifted over the last three years. He pointed to a collective awakening around Palestinian liberation. Also, he pointed to the power of billionaires to censor that call and to what people now expect from artists.
He said being apolitical during a genocide no longer works. Then he added that people are asking artists to show up, educate themselves and be in community, and to use the stage for more than entertainment.
He also framed the dispute as larger than himself. He said what happened to him is bigger than one artist or one stage.
- Macklemore
