Macklemore Says Nine U.S. Venues Reject His Free Palestine Tour

Madison Square Garden and the Kia Forum are among nine American concert venues that refused to host Macklemore’s Free Palestine benefit tour, the rapper said Friday, opening a new dispute over his efforts to raise money for Palestinians.

The allegation follows performances in Dublin, Paris and London. Macklemore said he had planned to bring the fundraising concerts to the United States, but negotiations with major arenas failed despite initially receiving available dates through the end of the year.

His account puts the venues’ motives at the center of the dispute. MSG Entertainment offered a different explanation, pointing to booking constraints and questioning whether he could fill an arena.

Nine Venues Named

Macklemore described weeks of outreach in an Instagram statement. By mid-September, he said, his team had received possible dates, only for those options to disappear once the venues learned the concerts would be benefits for Palestine.

“The shows were not going to be allowed to happen in these venues,” he wrote. “In over 20 years of touring, I’ve never experienced anything like this.”

Rolling Stone and the Guardian reported that the nine venues he named were Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, UBS Arena, Prudential Center, Intuit Dome, the Kia Forum, Crypto.com Arena, Chase Center and Climate Pledge Arena.

That list spans the New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. The claim that the benefit concerts’ political purpose prompted the refusals is Macklemore’s account, rather than an explanation accepted by the venues.

A spokesperson for MSG Entertainment told Reuters that its properties were among “the busiest venues in the world with extremely limited availability” and that Macklemore was “not an arena-level act.” Representatives for the Kia Forum did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

European Shows Raise Funds

The U.S. booking dispute contrasts with the European leg, which Macklemore said sold out in Dublin, Paris and London. The concerts raised funds for organizations supporting Palestinians, with the rapper pledging to continue working with other artists and organizers.

Rolling Stone reported that beneficiaries included Medical Aid for Palestinians, Heal Palestine, the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Gaza Soup Kitchen and the UNRWA USA National Committee. No fundraising total was provided in the Reuters report.

Actor Mark Ruffalo sent a video message to the Dublin benefit on October 26, urging supporters to keep campaigning for a free Palestine. The appearance was part of the wider participation of artists and speakers in the shows.

Sheeran Split Precedes Tour

Macklemore announced the benefit tour after losing his place as an opening act on Ed Sheeran’s U.S. tour. He said stadium owners objected to his pro-Palestinian remarks on stage.

Reuters’ September 14 reporting placed the announcement of his removal after a September 4 performance at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Sheeran subsequently said the decision came from the promoter, not from him. The promoter said venue owners would not allow concerts with Macklemore on the lineup, according to Rolling Stone.

Sheeran later addressed the controversy on stage in Philadelphia, speaking about Gaza after the departures from his tour’s support lineup.

The episode also drew a response in Gaza, where Palestinian artists painted a mural showing Macklemore wrapped in a Palestinian flag. Reuters documented the mural, while the rapper announced plans to donate his net earnings from Sheeran’s tour to Palestinian support organizations.

More Performances Planned

Macklemore framed the latest refusals as a question of who controls access to major stages. His statement challenged the influence of wealthy venue owners over artists’ political speech, while promising further performances rather than a retreat from the cause.

Rolling Stone and the Guardian reported that he also cited Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed’s victory as evidence of changing political sentiment. El-Sayed has since launched a leadership PAC.

The dispute adds to the wider American political argument over Israel and regional wars. Macklemore’s immediate next step is to find alternative ways to stage benefits; he has not announced a confirmed U.S. itinerary.

Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, according to Reuters. The assault followed the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks that killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel. Israeli officials describe their military action as self-defense.