Macklemore Launches "Free Palestine Tour" Following Ed Sheeran Controversy

Macklemore has announced the “Free Palestine Tour” after being dropped from Ed Sheeran’s “Loop Tour” for making pro-Palestine remarks on stage. The Seattle native took to Instagram on Thursday, Sept. 25, to announce it, saying more details about the tour would be shared soon. But as of now the tour is set to hit Dublin, Paris, and London with the tour kicking off on Oct.26. Additionally, all proceeds from the tour will be sent to “organizations supporting Palestine and the Palestine movement,” as per the official tour flyer.

“This is a moment of momentum, and there is work to be done. So we’re going on tour,” Macklemore typed on IG.

“So, as you all know, my schedule freed up a bit. I’ve spent the last week reaching out to artists who have shown up and used their stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, regardless of the consequences. Artists who understand that our platforms mean very little if we’re only willing to use them when it’s safe.”

As Pollstar previously reported, Macklemore announced on Sept. 14 that he had been dropped from Sheeran’s major United States tour after remarks he made during the show at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

“One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour, was because I wanted to stand up here on stages and stadiums across America, and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart. Free Palestine,” he could be heard saying in the video from the MetLife show.

Macklemore later alleged in a separate post that Sheeran told him that the owner of Gillette Stadium and the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft, mobilized other NFL owners and offered Ed Sheeran an ultimatum: remove Macklemore from the remaining shows or be blocked from performing at their stadiums.

“Ed is my friend. I’ve known him for 13 years. We’ve shared late nights, studio sessions and stages. He has this infectious magic about him that I’ve grown to love. I consider him a brother,” Macklemore wrote. “And because of that, we’ve had some difficult conversations this past week. The type of talks rooted in love and respect for one another that still end in a place of fundamental disagreement. Nothing I’m writing here is out of spite of because I want to tear down his character. But as I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can’t change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened.

“Ed was in a fucked up position,” he adds. “He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before. He told me that the words ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with. I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood. But he couldn’t get past his public-facing, ‘I don’t take sides.’

After Macklemore was removed from the tour, other artists a part of the “Loop Tour” as supporting acts decided to drop out. These artists included Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, and Beoga.

Then, at his first concert since Macklemore’s removal on Sept. 19, Ed Sheeran finally offered his opinion on the matter, apologizing to fans for “making mistakes.”

_Originally reported by [Pollstar](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/09/25/macklemore-announces-free-palestine-tour-after-ed-sheeran-controversy/)._