Macklemore Claims Nine Major US Arenas Blocked Free Palestine Tour
The rapper accused venues of using intimidation tactics after initial bookings were canceled once the shows were identified as benefit concerts.
By Bianca Shevchenko ·
Rapper and singer Macklemore announced on social media that nine major American arenas have refused to host his Free Palestine fundraising tour. He posted the details on Instagram on Thursday, listing the venues that declined after what he described as weeks of negotiations. The statement came days after he concluded a sold-out run in Europe.
The venues that turned down the tour include Madison Square Garden in New York City, Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Other locations cited were UBS Arena, Prudential Center, Intuit Dome, Kia Forum, Chase Center in San Francisco, and Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Macklemore said the arenas initially offered available dates through the end of the year but revoked those offers once they learned the shows were benefits for Palestine.
“By mid-September, we received available dates at these arenas through the end of the year. But once they found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table,” Macklemore wrote in the post. He added that while the conversations varied, the final result was identical in every case. “The shows were not going to be allowed to happen in these venues.”
The rejection of the tour follows a dispute with singer Ed Sheeran in early September. Macklemore opened for Sheeran and delivered a brief speech supporting the occupied West Bank. Sheeran subsequently dropped the rapper from the tour, stating that US venues threatened to cancel shows if Macklemore remained as the supporting act. Sheeran later clarified that his personal views remained unchanged, noting, “I am not complicit.. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean that I don’t care.”
Following the removal, all four opening acts and Sheeran’s live band quit the tour in solidarity with Macklemore. The rapper used his recent European shows to capitalize on the momentum. He performed in Dublin, London, and Paris, where he gathered more than forty artists and speakers to support the cause. “Three sold-out arenas. Tens of thousands of people from different backgrounds, religions and walks of life standing together,” he wrote, contrasting the European reception with the US rejections.
Macklemore connected the venue rejections to a shifting political atmosphere in the United States. He pointed to the midterm elections held this week, where Democrats swept key races. Specifically, he highlighted the Senate victory of Abdul El-Sayed, who campaigned on a platform that included ending the genocide in Gaza and stopping US arms sales to Israel. “AIPAC spent $42m trying to defeat him. And they still couldn’t win,” Macklemore noted.
The rapper argued that industry leaders rely on entertainers staying silent to protect their business interests. “The intimidation, manipulation and suppression I experienced are part of how those in power keep entertainers quiet,” he said. He claimed to be no longer concerned with maintaining professional relationships with those who did not support the movement. “I’m three years past giving two shits about maintaining any relationships, business or personal, with anyone that isn’t riding for a Free Palestine.”
Macklemore promised that the fundraising effort would continue beyond the current tour. He stated that he would likely move future events to outdoor locations if indoor arenas remained closed. “We’ll keep working with other artists and organizers, continuing where we left off in Europe,” he wrote. The post concluded with a direct message to venue owners and their patrons. “They may own the arenas. But they do not own the people who fill them. And they never will.”
