Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour Loses Openers After Macklemore Ban

Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour has become a venue-level free speech dispute after New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft confirmed he barred opening act Macklemore from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Macklemore had used his set to declare “Free Palestine” and show images of destruction in Gaza. In a statement, he said Sheeran told him Kraft had rallied other stadium owners and given an ultimatum: remove Macklemore or lose the venues. Kraft acknowledged banning the rapper from Gillette, citing “too much suffering” and arguing that support for Palestinians should not be mutually exclusive with opposition to Hamas and antisemitism. He did not address the claim that he coordinated with other owners.

The decision has not contained the fallout. Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe, Sheeran’s other opening acts, announced they were leaving the tour in protest and declared “Free Palestine” as they departed. Beoga, the Irish band performing select songs with Sheeran, has also withdrawn.

The tour now sits in public disarray. Sheeran, largely apolitical, faces criticism for continuing rather than walking away or publicly backing his former opener. Kraft may have the legal right to control who plays his venue, but the attempt to remove a politically outspoken artist has amplified the original gesture and turned a mid-tour personnel decision into a wider argument about pressure, access, and how the live music industry handles artists with explicit political positions.