After being removed from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour, Grammy Award winner Macklemore will soon return to the live stage. The rapper has announced “Free Palestine,” a series of performances with all proceeds to benefit Palestinian aid organizations. The run will begin with three dates next month in Europe. It kicks off at Dublin’s 3Arena on Oct. 26, followed by Paris’ Accor Arena on Oct. 29 and London’s OVO Arena Wembley on Oct. 30. Additional artist announcements, as well as U.S. dates, are forthcoming. An artist presale begins at 10 a.m. local time Monday at Macklemore.com. According to a press release from Live Nation, the shows will benefit several Palestinian aid organizations, including Anera, Glia, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Taawon, HEAL Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement, Middle East Children’s Alliance, Jewish Voice for Peace, Medical Aid for Palestinians. Institute for Middle East Understanding, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and an UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA USA. “If these last couple of weeks have shown us anything, it’s that something has shifted over the last three years. There has been a collective awakening around Palestinian liberation, the power of billionaires that try to censor that call, and what we expect from artists right now,” Macklemore wrote on Instagram in the caption of his “Free Palestine” announcement. “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.” What to know about Macklemore’s pro-Palestinian comments — and Ed Sheeran Last week, Macklemore made headlines when it was revealed that he was dropped as an opener for Ed Sheeran’s tour of North and South America because of the rapper’s onstage pro-Palestinian comments. Since then, all of Sheeran’s other supporting acts dropped out, including a group that plays with Sheeran during part of the show. At the time, Sheeran said the decision to cut Macklemore from the Loop Tour was the promoter’s, not his own. Macklemore said his removal was the result of an effort led by Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots. His Kraft Group also owns Gillette Stadium, where the NFL team plays and where Sheeran is scheduled to perform later this month. Macklemore also announced he would donate US$1 million from his net earnings from the tour to six organizations helping Palestinians. Maria Sherman, The Associated Press
