On the first of his two-night run at Gillette Stadium on Friday, Zach Bryan hit the stage wearing a shirt that read “Free Palestine.” The singer-songwriter appeared to be sending a message to stadium and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft after he banned Macklemore from the venue following the Seattle rapper’s comments while touring with Ed Sheeran.
Reps for Bryan and Gillette stadium did not immediately return a request for comment.
In early September, during a show at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, Macklemore yelled “Free Palestine”; expressed solidarity with people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank; showed images from the devastating war in Gaza; and performed his protest song, “Hind’s Hall,” about pro-Palestine demonstrators at Columbia University. The backlash was swift, and pro-Israel groups fiercely criticized Macklemore, and he was later removed from the rest of Sheeran’s stadium tour.
Macklemore later claimed that he was dropped from the trek after Kraft mounted a pressure campaign against Sheeran to nix the rapper. Kraft, in his own statement, confirmed he made the decision to bar Macklemore from performing at Gillette, saying it was based on his “recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey.” Kraft, however, did not address the claim that he also “rallied” other stadium owners to also pressure Sheeran.
Every artist supporting Sheeran on his Loop Tour withdrew from his stadium run following the removal of Macklemore. “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas wrote in a social media post. “I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.”
Weeks after the controversy, Macklemore revealed his own headlining dates for his Free Palestine Tour, which he announced “sold out immediately.” “We put these shows together fast and in community, believing that musicians can stand in solidarity with Palestine, use the stage to raise funds, and show what collective action can look like,” said the artist in a statement. “When those in power try to silence our calls for liberation, art will always be a form of resistance.”
As of now, Bryan is still scheduled to return to Gillette stadium on Saturday evening as part of his sold-out With Heaven On Tour.