Latest / Best of: Features / Ed Sheeran is set to return to stage for 1st time since Macklemore was cut and other acts withdrew

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Ed Sheeran is set to return to stage for 1st time since Macklemore was cut and other acts withdrew · Best of: Features

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  Ed Shirin says situation in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable as he
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  opens concert. Written by Tasani Vedpungza. This article is being read
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  by an automated voice, generated by Everlet. Philadelphia, the AP. Ed
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  Sheeran
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  opened a concert Saturday with comments about Gaza after controversy swirled around
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  his tour, and supporting acts withdrew in solidarity with opener Macklemore, who
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  was dropped after making pro Palestinian comments on stage. Sheeran began the
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  concert alone on stage with no opener, but was joined by other
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  musicians later in the show. Shearin said he want his music and
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  shows to be about unity and humanity, not politics. But he said
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  that the attacks in Israel of october seventh, twenty twenty three were
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  horrific, and what is happening in Gaza catastrophic and unjustifiable. I don't
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  want to disappoint fans, and I've never wanted to be an activist
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  musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important
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  and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political
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  issue on the planet, Sheeran said, during his performance at Lincoln Financial
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  Field in Philadelphia. The comments before a nearly full stadium came after
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  a tumultuous week that began with rapper Macklemore, Sheeran's original US opener,
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  being dropped in response to exclaiming Free Palestine during a September fifth
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  show in New Jersey. Sheeran
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  has said he was not responsible for the decision which came at
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  the urging of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. His company owns
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  a stadium where Sheeran's tour was scheduled to play on Friday. Within
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  hours of Sheerin's statement Tuesday, his supporting acts withdrew. Sheerin has performed
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  many songs solo during his loop tour concerts, but was joined for
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  several songs at each stop by the Irish folk band Bioga before
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  they dropped out in support of McLamore. McLamore was replaced by Danish
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  band Lucas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe before they backed out,
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  and Phineas, Billy Eilish's brother and musical collaborator, was due to tour
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  with Sheeran in South America later this year before he too dropped
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  out this week, Before Saturday's show, a small group of pro Palestinian
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  demonstrators congregated outside the stadium. Hilary Steinberg, thirty four, said she got
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  concert tickets a year ago but wound up getting a refund and
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  attended the demonstration instead, disappointed that Sheeran did not take a stand.
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  I was, until this week, a big Ed Sheeran fan, Steinberg said.
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  I think all art is political, and all music is political, and
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  so this choice, even though he was saying that he wasn't complicit,
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  is a political choice. Diane Savitz, a fifty three year old from
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  Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, got tickets months ago and attended. She said she is
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  a big Sheeran fan, doesn't think he did anything wrong, and a
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  concert is not the place for politics. A concert should be for
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  people enjoying the music. Music should bring people together, Savit said. Everyone
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  has their right to freedom of speech, but not every platform is
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  the place for it. McLamore said Wednesday he is donating one million
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  dollars to support Palestinian relief efforts and called on Kraft to match
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  the gift. A spokesperson for Kraft has said The
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  billionaire and Sheerin have each agreed to donate two million dollars, but
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  have not specified where the money will be directed. Sheerin's representatives have
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  not responded to multiple requests for comment. Sheeran was the number three
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  top-earning concert act of the millennium so far, industry magazine Polestar calculated
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  in late 2025. Sheeron has said the tour promoter was ultimately responsible
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  for the decision to drop Macklemore. The Grammy winner was adamant earlier
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  this week that he wouldn't be drawn into discussion of the war
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  in Gaza, arguing that his fans don't come to his shows to
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  hear about these issues. He also said he spoke with the venues
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  at length all week to try to build a bridge before Macklemore
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  was dropped. He insisted he would never willingly let down his fans
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  or abandon the touring crew and others who rely on him to
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  make a living. While promoters and venues wield great power over concert
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  tours, experts say an artist of Sheeran's magnitude generally has the final
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  say about what happens concerning the shows. Sheeran told the crowd in
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  Philadelphia that everyone is welcome at his concerts, and they can have
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  opposing points of view while still singing his songs, which are about
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  love, hope, and unity. He also told fans he worries about venues
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  pre-approving performances. This happens in so many places that I perform around
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  the world, but it should never happen in the free world, Sheeran
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  said. A previous version of this story incorrectly quoted Polestar magazine as
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  calculating that Sheeran was the third highest concert earner from twenty twenty
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  one to twenty twenty five. It was from two thousand one to
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  twenty twenty five. It has also been edited to correct the spelling
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  of Polestar. Associated Press Journalist Jessica Hill in Las Vegas contributed.