Macklemore Says Nine U.S. Arenas Declined His Free Palestine Benefit Tour
The rapper claims that major American venues withdrew available dates after learning his shows were intended to raise funds for Palestine.
Macklemore announced a series of benefit concerts in Dublin, London and Paris to support Palestine and said he was seeking dates at U.S. arenas. In an Instagram post on November 6, he listed nine venues – Madison Square Garden, Prudential Center, Barclays Center, UBS Arena, Intuit Dome, Kia Forum, Crypto.com Arena, Chase Center and Climate Pledge Arena – that he says cancelled previously offered dates once they learned the shows were for a Palestinian cause.
"We received available dates at these arenas through the end of the year. But once they found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table," Macklemore wrote.
He added that he would continue to look for alternative locations for the tour. Pitchfork contacted representatives of each venue for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
The artist noted that the difficulty he encountered is part of a broader pattern of challenges faced by entertainers who express solidarity with the Palestinian people. He emphasized his intention to keep raising funds and awareness for the cause through future performances outside traditional arena settings.