Ken Casey: Ed Sheeran Should Have Stood By Macklemore

Dropkick Murphys frontman Ken Casey has weight in on the current Ed Sheeran – Macklemore situation, saying that a headlining act should stand with the tour’s opening acts.

For a quick refresher, Macklemore was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour after he made pro-Palestine remarks at one of the concerts. Robert Kraft, the New England Patriots owner who owns Gillette Stadium in the Boston area issued an ultimatum to Sheeran to remove Macklemore or else cancel an upcoming show. Kraft apparently encouraged other NFL/stadium owners to do the same.

While speaking with Boston Public Radio, the politically outspoken Casey said, “I know that, as a musician for 30 years, anytime we’ve gone on tour we’ve selected the band that have opened for us, that’s brotherhood, sisterhood, that’s family. You live or die with the people you bring on the road. They’re your people.”

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He continued, “And the fact that Ed Sheeran took the knee, no matter what the cause is, and not stood with his fellow tour partner, just doesn’t sit right with me. And that’s not how Dropkick Murphys would operate.”

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Casey went on to say that Dropkick Murphys probably lost half the crowd with his anti-Trump messaging during their appearance at the recent Rocklahoma festival, and likely upset the festival’s organizer, but felt that he needed to do what he had to do.

Dropkick Murphys will play Tom Morello’s Power to the People festival in Columbia, Maryland, on October 3rd, before heading over to Australia and New Zealand later this year to embark on a tour with Rise Against.

Watch Ken Casey speak on the Ed Sheeran-Macklemore situation below.

> @bostonpublicradio Frontman of the Dropkick Murphys Ken Casey joined Boston Public Radio this week to share his thoughts on the situation surrounding Ed Sheeran, Macklemore and Robert Kraft. #boston #news @Dropkick Murphys Advertisement ♬ original sound – Boston Public Radio

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_Originally reported by [Consequence](https://consequence.net/2026/09/dropkick-murphys-ken-casey-ed-sheeran-macklemore-situation/)._