Ed Sheeran will not play Gillette Stadium this weekend. Both of his Loop Tour shows in Foxborough, Massachusetts, set for Friday, September 25 and Saturday, September 26, were canceled on Friday morning, with organizers citing a nor’easter forecast to bring heavy rain and strong winds across New England.
On paper it is a weather call. In practice it lands at the end of the most bruising two weeks of Sheeran’s touring career, and at the one venue at the center of it all: the stadium owned by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, whose objection to opening act Macklemore set the whole controversy in motion.
What was announced
The statement put safety first. “The decision was made with the safety of fans, staff and everyone involved in the shows as the top priority,” it read, according to TMZ, which reported that stage construction had already been halted on Thursday because of the incoming storm. Ticketmaster buyers are being refunded automatically, and anyone who bought elsewhere has to go back to the point of purchase.
Accounts differ on who actually made the call. TMZ attributed the statement to stadium and tour management jointly. The Boston Globe reported that it was posted to Instagram by the Messina Touring Group, the tour’s promoter. UNILAD presented the same wording as coming from Kraft himself. TicketNews said the decision followed consultation with public safety officials and that it was not immediately clear whether the dates could be rescheduled.
The weather threat was real and had been flagged in advance. Stereogum reported on Thursday that the shows might be lost to the storm, and the National Weather Service warned of heavy rain, high surf and possible coastal flooding from the Mid-Atlantic up through New England.
How it got here
The trouble started on September 5 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where Macklemore, one of Sheeran’s openers, made pro-Palestinian remarks on stage and introduced a protest song, as PBS reported. Within days he was off the tour.
Kraft has been open about his part in that. His statement said Gillette Stadium does not provide a platform for hate speech and that hosting Macklemore would “cross that line,” according to WBUR. Kraft cited what he called “a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric” on Macklemore’s part. The Boston Globe noted that this included a 2014 costume controversy, for which Macklemore apologized at the time.
How much further Kraft’s involvement went is disputed. TicketNews reported that Kraft acknowledged personally asking Sheeran to consider removing Macklemore. NBC Boston went further and described Kraft as having organized a boycott. Macklemore’s own account, as relayed by WBUR, is that Kraft rallied other NFL stadium owners behind an ultimatum: drop Macklemore or lose access to their venues. That version is Macklemore’s claim, and the other owners have not been publicly named.
Sheeran has insisted the decision was not his. “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine,” he said in a statement quoted by PBS, adding that he keeps quiet on Gaza because fans do not come to his shows expecting “a political forum.”
That did not stop the tour from coming apart. Finneas, Lukas Graham, Irish folk band Beoga and singer Aaron Rowe all withdrew in solidarity with Macklemore. Lukas Graham’s statement was the bluntest: “Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation.” Finneas said he stood with Palestine and its people.
The row then turned to money. Macklemore pledged $1 million of his tour earnings to Palestinian aid groups and challenged Kraft to match it, and Kraft said that Sheeran had asked him to commit $2 million to humanitarian aid, Fortune reported. Sheeran then played Philadelphia on September 19 with his openers gone, while pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside.
The fallout in Massachusetts
By the time the storm arrived, the Gillette shows were already in trouble. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s office received more than 170 consumer complaints about the lineup changes, NBC Boston reported. The office concluded that “changing nearly all of the acts and performers at the same time” made Ticketmaster’s refusal to refund look unfair, and Ticketmaster opened a refund window for anyone who asked at least 24 hours before showtime. A demonstration had also been planned outside the stadium for Saturday night.
Macklemore, meanwhile, has announced a three-stop Free Palestine Tour of his own, per Forbes. The move drew immediate commentary from the right, with Ben Shapiro among those weighing in.
What happens next
No one involved has suggested the weekend was canceled for any reason other than the weather, and the forecast backs that up. But the result is the same either way: Sheeran will not play the stadium at the center of the dispute this weekend, and there are no replacement dates on the calendar yet.
The North American leg of the Loop Tour runs through November 7 in Tampa. Whether Sheeran tries to bring Foxborough back into the schedule, and on whose terms, is the question fans on both sides of this argument will be watching.
