Four acts have withdrawn from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour within days of Macklemore being removed from the bill, turning a promoter’s scheduling decision into the biggest controversy of Sheeran’s touring career.
The trouble began on 4 and 5 September, when Macklemore used his opening sets at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to call for ‘Free Palestine’, pairing the remarks with footage from Gaza. Stadium ownership pushed back, and on 14 September tour promoters Messina Touring Group dropped Macklemore from the remaining dates, reportedly after being told shows would be cancelled if he stayed on the bill.
The next day, the four acts still left on the tour, backing band Beoga and openers Finneas, Aaron Rowe and Lukas Graham, announced they were leaving too, in solidarity with Macklemore. Finneas said ‘artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,’ while Aaron Rowe wrote that he ‘cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence rightful voices.’ Beoga, an Irish band, said playing ‘venues that silence anyone advocating for a Free Palestine is simply not an option for us,’ and Lukas Graham put it more bluntly: ‘Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation.’
Sheeran has said the call to remove Macklemore came from promoters rather than from him personally, writing that he is ‘appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine’ and that ‘the suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy.’ Macklemore, for his part, has accused Sheeran of hiding behind an ‘apolitical stance’, arguing there is no neutral position between ‘the oppressed and the oppressor’.
With four acts gone and the tour’s remaining dates still on sale, it is not yet clear who, if anyone, will fill the support slots, or whether Sheeran will address the walkouts directly himself.
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