American rapper Macklemore (Benjamin Haggerty) has announced a Free Palestine tour, travelling to Dublin, London and Paris throughout October. All proceeds will be donated to organisations supporting Palestine, such as Gaza Soup Kitchen, the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), Anera and more. It will also feature a lineup of other artists who Macklemore says, “have shown up and used their stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, regardless of the consequences”.
The Free Palestine tour follows Macklemore’s recent removal from Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour after making pro-Palestine comments on stage. The removal was called for by Robert Kraft, CEO of The Kraft Group, among other stadium owners. The incident sparked global backlash towards Sheeran and debates over free speech and the responsibilities of artists amidst the genocide taking place in Gaza.
Since then, Macklemore has donated $1 million of his net earnings from the Loop tour to numerous pro-Palestine organisations, and declared, “I invite Robert Kraft to match my donation”. According to the BBC, Kraft’s response was: “Earlier today, before Macklemore challenged me to match his donation, Ed called me and asked me to commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis”.
In a social media post about the tour, Macklemore also expressed: “If these last couple of weeks have shown us anything, it’s that something has shifted over the last three years. There has been a collective awakening around Palestinian liberation, the power of billionaires that try to censor that call, and what we expect from artists right now.”
He continues, “It’s 2026. Being apolitical during a genocide doesn’t work anymore. People are asking artists to show up, educate themselves and be in community. To use the stage for more than entertainment. To push back when the call for a Free Palestine is met with attempts to silence it.
“What happened to me is bigger than one artist or one stage. When the billionaire class can decide which voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear, everyone should be paying attention”.
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The Dublin concert is set to take place on Monday, October 26, at the 3Arena, with presale tickets available from September 28 and general tickets available from September 30. The 3Arena states: “This concert brings Macklemore (@macklemore) together with artists and friends for a series of performances that centre Palestine and Palestinians, and help provide humanitarian aid and support to the movement.”
Macklemore concluded: “Because of how quickly all of this has come together, a lot of the conversations, schedules and details are still being worked out. But this is a moment of momentum, and there is work to be done.”
More information on the other featured artists is to be announced soon.
© 2026 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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