Macklemore isn’t sitting this one out. After being removed from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour over pro-Palestinian comments he made onstage at MetLife Stadium, and after several U.S. venues refused to let him perform as an opening act, the rapper announced his own “Free Palestine” tour on Thursday. The run starts in Dublin on October 26, then hits Paris on October 29 and London on October 30. In his Instagram announcement, he said his schedule freed up and that what happened to him is bigger than one artist or one stage.
He also said he spent the past week reaching out to artists who have used their own stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Other Loop Tour opening acts reportedly dropped out on their own after his removal. And in a move that’s drawn plenty of attention, Macklemore is donating $1 million of his Loop Tour net earnings to six organizations helping Palestinians.
Whether you’re a longtime fan or you just follow music industry drama, this one touches a nerve. Free speech, promoter decisions, venue pressure, artist solidarity. The Suncoast has a thriving arts community centered around places like the Ringling, and these debates about who gets a stage and who gets to speak aren’t going away. So tell us, should venues be able to pull an artist over onstage comments?
