Macklemore says Climate Pledge Arena among venues that rejected his ‘Free Palestine Tour’

Macklemore said several venues, including Climate Pledge Arena in his hometown of Seattle, have rejected his efforts to bring his “Free Palestine Tour” to the U.S.

In an Instagram post Friday, Macklemore said nine major American arenas turned the tour down: Madison Square Garden, Prudential Center, Barclays Center, UBS Arena, Intuit Dome, Kia Forum, Crypto.com Arena, Chase Center, and Climate Pledge Arena.

“By mid-September, we received available dates at these arenas through the end of the year,” Macklemore wrote. “But once they found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table. The doors were closed. The conversations were all different, but the result was the same. The shows were not going to be allowed to happen in these venues.

“In over twenty years of touring, I’ve never experienced anything like this,” he continued. “But this is not an isolated incident. For decades, activists, poets, writers, musicians and entertainers who have stood in solidarity with the Palestinian people have faced consequences for doing so. Many have paid a far greater price than I have.”

Macklemore added that he would rather lose every opportunity than “spend another day protecting people who value their business relationships with Israel more than they value Palestinian human life.”

 

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Macklemore points to sold-out European shows amid U.S. venue rejections

Last month, Macklemore took his tour to Dublin, Paris, and London. All proceeds went to benefit organizations supporting Palestine and the Palestinian movement, according to his website.

“Look at what just happened in Europe,” Macklemore wrote. “Three sold-out arenas. Tens of thousands of people from different backgrounds, religions, and walks of life standing together. More than 40 artists and speakers putting their names and platforms behind Palestinian liberation. For all the attempts to paint this movement as one rooted in hatred, what filled those rooms was love.”

Macklemore was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour in September after saying “Free Palestine” at MetLife Stadium.

He ended his Instagram post by stating that the tour will continue even without major arenas.

“There comes a point when the world changes, not because those in power give us permission, but because the people stop asking for it,” Macklemore wrote. “We will build our own stages. They may own the arenas. But they do not own the people who fill them. And they never will.”

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