Macklemore is launching the Free Palestine Tour, his own run of benefit shows, weeks after he was dropped as an opener from Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour for saying “Free Palestine” on stage.
The first three dates are in Europe: Dublin on October 26, Paris on October 29 and London on October 30. Presale starts Monday at 10 a.m. local time, and general sale opens Wednesday. Macklemore says more cities are coming in the next few weeks, including shows in the United States, along with guest artists who will join him.
According to Macklemore, all proceeds from the Free Palestine Tour will go to groups supporting Palestinians, including Anera, Medical Aid for Palestinians, the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Gaza Soup Kitchen, UNRWA USA, HEAL Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace.
He announced the tour on Instagram and made it clear this was about more than music. “It’s 2026. Being apolitical during a genocide doesn’t work anymore,” he wrote, adding that artists are being asked to use the stage for more than entertainment. He also said he spent the past week reaching out to artists who have stood with Palestinians regardless of the consequences.
The tour is his answer to what happened at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month. While opening for Sheeran, Macklemore said “Free Palestine” and performed “Hind’s Hall,” his 2024 protest song inspired by the student demonstrations at Columbia University and named for Hind Rajab, a 6 year old girl killed in Gaza. Before the song, he told Jewish fans in the crowd that his criticism of the Israeli government was not about them.
Video of the speech spread fast, and so did the fallout. Macklemore says New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft took issue with his remarks and rallied other stadium owners, who told Sheeran’s team to remove him or risk having shows canceled. Sheeran confirmed Kraft was one of the people who called him. Kraft did not deny Macklemore’s account and claimed that he and Sheeran would each donate $2 million to aid efforts.
Macklemore called it bigger than one artist, saying that when “the billionaire class” gets to decide which voices are allowed on stage, everyone should be paying attention.
He was not the only one who walked. After his removal, Sheeran’s other openers, FINNEAS, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe, along with Sheeran’s backing band Beoga, all pulled out of the tour in solidarity. Macklemore also said he would donate the full $1 million he earned from the Sheeran dates to Palestinian causes.
Sheeran returned to the stage in Philadelphia this past weekend and addressed the controversy, raising concerns about venues restricting what artists can say.
Macklemore has been vocal on Gaza for years. In November 2023, he spoke at a pro Palestine rally in Washington, D.C., and called the war a genocide in front of thousands of protesters.
