It looks like Ed Sheeran’s might just have to do extended sets on the remainder of the his Loop tour. The rest of his support acts have quit in solidarity with Macklemore.
You may recall that Macklemore was booted off the tour, a decision that seems was largely made by Robert Kraft, the owner of Gillette Stadium, where Sheeran is due to play two dates on 25 and 26 September.
It seems that Kraft – a prominent donor to Israel - rallied fellow stadium owners and pressurised Sheeran to dispense with Macklemore after the rapper told the audience during his support slot a couple of weeks back that he wanted the people of the West Bank and Gaza to “know that they have not been forgotten... I believe that every human being walking on this earth deserves exactly the same freedom.”
Macklemore was careful to point out that his criticism of the Israeli government was not intended as a criticism of the Jewish religion or its people.
Now Finneas – a much more prominent name and one who was also due to support Sheeran on South American dates in November – has quit the tour.
“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas posted on Instagram. “I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.”
He followed Aaron Rowe, an Irish singer-songwriter who was due to support Sheeran on ten of his North American shows.
"I don’t take the decision lightly,” Rowe wrote on social media. “Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life, I could never thank him enough for this.”
“But as Irish people, we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation. I cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide and who highlight the savage murder of children. I would lose all respect for myself to carry on as normal.”
Sheeran has also lost his backing band. Beoga, the Irish group who have played with him on this tour, have also quit, citing “silencing of Macklemore by zionist lobbies”.
And Lukas Graham (who are a band, not a singer) have also gone. “We should be able to speak about war, about civilians being killed, about children who deserve to grow up. Wherever they live. Whatever flag flies over them,” their lead singer Lukas Forchhammer wrote on social media. “Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation. Nobody’s bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we’re allowed to acknowledge.”
Sheeran did break his silence on all this yesterday. Writing on Instagram, the singer said that he had spent a week “trying to build bridges, to find a solution and unfortunately, was unable to do so,” and that the “venue’s and promoter’s decision was final.”
In theory, Sheeran could do the rest of the tour on his own – he did, after all, entertain Wembley Stadium with no more accompaniment than his guitar back in 2015. But as he’s clearly discovering, sitting on the fence is not a comfortable position when you’re in the middle of the crossfire.
