Macklemore sells out three arenas after Sheeran tour removal

Macklemore opened his Free Palestine Tour on Monday night at Dublin's 3Arena, three weeks after Ed Sheeran's promoter removed him from the U.S. Loop Tour over his pro-Palestine remarks during opening sets. Organizers did not announce the lineup in advance.

The Dublin bill included Hozier, Kneecap, Palestinian-American DJ and producer DJ Habibeats, Palestinian singer-songwriter Lina Makoul and rapper M1 of Dead Prez. Boega, the backing band that left Sheeran's tour in solidarity with Macklemore, also performed.

Irish actor Liam Cunningham, activist and psychotherapist Nadia Greenspan, and artist and organizer Samir Eskanda spoke at the event. Cunningham told the crowd: "Enjoying tonight does not mean forgetting about the suffering in Gaza. It means celebrating the humanity and life that Palestinians have fought so hard to protect."

All proceeds from the concerts go to organizations supporting Palestine and the Palestinian movement. A press release said those groups provide medical supplies, food, humanitarian assistance, education, community support and advocacy, and address policy change by countries it described as complicit.

The tour continues at Paris' Accor Arena on Oct. 29 and London's OVO Arena Wembley on Oct. 30. All three shows are sold out.

Macklemore was dropped from Sheeran's tour last month. Messina Touring Group, the promoter for the U.S. Loop Tour, said venues had told it they would not host a show with Macklemore on the bill, and that going ahead would have led to tour cancellations affecting hundreds of thousands of fans. "After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates," the promoter said.

Sheeran later said from the stage that he had never wanted to be an activist musician but had been placed in the middle of an argument about free speech. He also said he was "deeply worried about the idea that venues pre-approve content for performance," adding that such review "should never happen in the free world."

In announcing the tour, Macklemore wrote on Instagram: "Being apolitical during a genocide doesn't work anymore. People are asking artists to show up, educate themselves and be in community."

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