Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Macklemore says United States arenas are blocking his Free Palestine tour.
The 43-year-old star – who was dropped by Ed Sheeran’s touring company earlier this year after he chanted “Free Palestine” during two concerts at MetLife Stadium – recently performed his show in Dublin, Paris and London.
He had hoped to bring it to the US but claims nine major venues have turned him down.
“A lot of you have been asking about US dates for The Free Palestine benefit tour, and I wanted to give you an update,” he wrote on Instagram.
“The shows in Dublin, Paris and London were three of the most beautiful I’ve ever been a part of.
“From the beginning, our plan was to bring this tour home to the US but after weeks of reaching out, nine major American arenas have turned us down.
“Once they found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table. The doors were closed.”
But Macklemore vowed to continue, working with other artists and organisers to raise funds for the Palestinian people.
“There comes a point when the world changes, not because those in power give us permission, but because the people stop asking for it,” he said.
“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.”
Madison Square Garden in New York was among the venues Macklemore claimed cut off talks about a tour stop but the venue insisted he was “not an arena level act”.
“We have some of the busiest venues in the world with extremely limited availability and he’s not an arena level act,” a spokesperson told Us Weekly.
