Macklemore has set his concert return with a solo show after being dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour.
Earlier this month, Macklemore announced he had been fired from the British singer-songwriter’s Loop tour over his pro-Palestine comments at an earlier gig. Macklemore claimed that Robert Kraft — the CEO of Kraft Group who owns Gillette Stadium — personally called Sheeran to say he would not be allowed to perform at the venue, while Sheeran later responded by stating he would not be drawn into a public debate about the Gaza war and that it was “the promoter’s decision” to remove Macklemore.
The fallout continued when Sheeran’s other opening acts withdrew, while protesters gathered outside his first concert without Macklemore last week.
Now, the “Thrift Shop” rapper will perform a solo show October 22 at Colorado’s iconic Red Rocks amphitheater for a one-off performance.
While the show was originally announced in March, demand for tickets has surged following the controversy. Only resale tickets — now starting at $220 for general admission — remain available for purchase on Ticketmaster. Rolling Stone reported that the show has only sold out since Macklemore was dropped from Sheeran’s tour.
That price is significantly higher than the $68 tickets available for Sheeran’s solo show in Philadelphia in the wake of the controversy. Some fans who were unhappy with how the situation was handled tried to resell their tickets to Sheeran’s concert, with prices falling sharply as last Saturday’s show approached.
Sheeran opened his Lincoln Financial Field concert by addressing the criticism he’s received, saying, “I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes. I’m so, so sorry. I don’t want to disappoint fans.”
He went on to clarify his own stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict, saying, “What happened in Israel, and at the music festival on October 7th was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate.”
For his part, Macklemore has largely been silent on social media since his firing, aside from an Instagram post in which he announced he will be donating $1 million from his earnings on Sheeran’s tour to “six organizations working directly to support the Palestine people.”
Macklemore then invited Kraft to match his donation.
Kraft acknowledged that Sheeran asked him to match his own $2 million donation. It has not yet been confirmed whether Kraft went ahead with the donation but he said in a statement that the pair planned to “work together to build bridges.”
Macklemore doesn’t currently have further concerts scheduled.
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