Macklemore says nine major US venues refused to host his Free Palestine tour

RAPPER MACKLEMORE HAS said that nine major US venues refused to host his Free Palestine tour, which began in Dublin last month.

Macklemore described his Free Palestine concert at Dublin’s 3Arena on 26 October as “one of the most beautiful moments I’ve ever been a part of”.

He was joined by Hozier, Kneecap and Beoga for the opening concert of the series, with proceeds going to organisations supporting Palestinians.

The other two concerts in the tour were held in London and Paris.

The three-date tour came together after Macklemore was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s US tour in September for expressing support for Palestine.

He joined Sheeran in two venues across the US and used both performances to advocate for Palestinians, wearing a keffiyeh and calling for peace.

After Macklemore was dropped from the tour, all of Sheeran’s support acts pulled out in solidarity with the US rapper.

Sheeran was accused of failing to stand up to the stadium owners, led by billionaire businessman Robert Kraft.

In a post today on Instagram, Macklemore said his plan was to “bring this tour home to the US” but that “after weeks of reaching out, nine major arenas have turned us down”.

These arenas included New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Los Angeles’s Crypto.com Arena and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

Macklemore said that in mid-September, these arenas offered him dates through the end of the year.

However, he said that once the arena “found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table”.

“In over 20 years of touring, I’ve never experienced anything like this,” said Macklemore.

He added that “intimidation, manipulation and suppression” are used by “those in power to keep entertainers quiet”.

“But at this point, 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,” said Macklemore.

He added that he would “rather lose every opportunity in this industry than spend another day protecting people who value their business relationships with Israel more than they value Palestinian human life”.

Macklemore also said that in the US, a “handful of billionaires can decide which causes are acceptable, which voices are welcome and which human lives are worth defending”.

He then wrote that the “tides are turning” in the US and pointed to the election of Abdul El-Sayed in a Senate race in Michigan.

“The trouble with buying power is believing you’ve bought the people,” said Macklemore.

Meanwhile, Macklemore said there will be “more shows for Palestine”.