Macklemore took to the 3Arena stage on Monday, October 26, for the Dublin date of his Free Palestine tour. The ‘Same Love’ rapper was joined by a range of special guests throughout the night, including Irish artists Hozier, Kneecap and Beoga.

The show comes after Macklemore was removed from Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour in September for making pro-Palestine comments at gigs in New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. In response, the rapper decided to embark on a tour of his own, with all proceeds benefitting “the Palestinian people and movement”. Some of the organisations that will receive funds include Medical Aid for Palestinians, Palestinian Youth Movement, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Jewish Voices for Peace, Heal Palestine, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, UNRWA USA National Committee, and more. 

The sold-out show kicked off with opening remarks from actor Liam Cunningham, who said, “Enjoying tonight does not mean forgetting about the suffering in Gaza. It means celebrating the humanity and life that Palestinians have fought so hard to protect.”

Irish act Beoga, who withdrew from Sheeran’s tour in solidarity with Macklemore, told the audience in Dublin, “The times are changing, we’ve never been prouder to be from the country we’re from.”

Meanwhile, Hozier praised Ireland’s history of “global solidarity when it comes to emancipation and justice,” as well as its “wonderful history of anti-racism”. However, he also highlighted that there are 55 students in Gaza “waiting for their visas to be approved for scholarship places they earned” in Ireland, which have not been greenlit by the government.

“It’s baffling why it hasn’t been solved yet,” Hozier continued, directing the crowd to sign an open letter to Taoiseach Micheál Martin on the issue.

 

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Some other of the night’s special guests included Palestinian singer-songwriter Lina Makoul, Dead Prez rapper M-1, and Palestinian-American DJ Habibeats. There were also a video performance from Gaza Children’s Choir and messages from famous faces including Mark Ruffalo, Cynthia Nixon, Natasha Rothwell, The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas and Ilana Glazer.

Macklemore took to the stage after 10pm, saying, “I have been blown away this entire evening. It has been a crazy six weeks.”

He added, “We took my shortest tour of all time, which was two nights at MetLife Stadium, and we turned that sh*t into this moment right here.”

Macklemore explained, “Six weeks ago, it was two words; two words is all that it took. Two words that are rooted in love and liberation. Not against anybody, not divisive, not a call for hatred, but a call to recognise our shared humanity.

The two words he is referring to are ‘Free Palestine’.

“While the world debates those words, we see the videos, we see the footage, we see parents pulling their children out of the rubble, families erased. Devastation beyond our imagination, and somehow, those words have become more controversial than the suffering that made them necessary.

“That’s why we’re here tonight. That is why we are here, because throughout history, music has given people the place to resist, to come together as a collective, to share our grief, to share our stories, to move from the heart, to mobilise people with the frequency of love, the heartbeat in our drum that makes us feel alive, that makes us feel connected.

“It has been beautiful to watch,” he said.

 

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Macklemore added that it was “fitting” to open the tour in Ireland, with the Dublin date coming before the musician travels to Paris on Thursday and London on Friday.