Macklemore ProfileA few weeks after American rapper Macklemore was let go from finishing stadium shows with Ed Sheeran due to his vocal support for Palestine, he announced his own tour: a Free Palestine Tour.
And now, he’s revealed that tickets sold out immediately, even without punters knowing the line-up of performers.
Macklemore announced the tour last week – on the tour poster, it’s billed “Macklemore and Friends.” The shows take place at Dublin’s 3Arena on Monday, 26 October, Paris’s Accor Arena on Thursday, 29 October, and London’s OVO Arena Wembley on Friday, 30 October.
Along with announcing the tour, Macklemore revealed that pre-sale tickets would go on sale this past Monday (28 September), followed by the general sale on Wednesday (30 September). Tickets to all three arena shows have already sold out.
Reacting to the news, Macklemore wrote on Instagram, “All three shows sold out immediately.
“I’m honestly blown away. We put these shows together fast and in community, believing that musicians can stand in solidarity with Palestine, use the stage to raise funds and show what collective action can look like. When those in power try to silence our calls for liberation, art will always be a form of resistance,” he continued.
“Dublin, Paris and London, thank you for showing up the way you did. The response to these shows is another reminder of how many people across the world are standing together for a free Palestine.”
He also teased that line-ups for each event are “coming soon,” and he “can’t wait to be together.”
In his initial tour announcement last week, Macklemore shared that US dates will also be announced soon. All proceeds from the shows will be donated to organisations “supporting the Palestinian people and movement,” the Hind’s Hall rapper wrote.
“What happened to me is bigger than one artist or one stage,” Macklemore said last week. “When the billionaire class can decide which voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear, everyone should be paying attention.”
So, as a result of no longer being on tour with Ed Sheeran, Macklemore’s schedule “freed up a bit,” giving him time to reach out to artists “who have shown up and used their stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, regardless of the consequences. Artists who understand that our platforms mean very little if we’re only willing to use them when it’s safe.”
While no artists appearing on stage beside him have been announced yet, fans have suggested the acts who dropped off Ed Sheeran’s tour in solidarity with Macklemore and the Palestinian people: FINNEAS, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe, and Sheeran’s backing band, Beoga.
Artists such as Paloma Faith, Tones And I, Kneecap, Urthboy and more have shown their support for the Free Palestine Tour in Instagram comment sections.
