Macklemore says major US arenas rejected Free Palestine benefit concerts
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- Venues cited include Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, Prudential Center, and UBS Arena in the New York metropolitan area, alongside Los Angeles-area facilities and San Francisco's Chase Center
- The artist said that corporate venue ownership will not suppress advocacy for Palestinian solidarity
Grammy-winning artist Macklemore stated on Friday that nine major American entertainment arenas refused to host his planned US benefit concerts, saying that venue operators rescinded proposed dates once they learned the shows were intended to raise funds and support for Palestine.
The announcement, follows the conclusion of his European tour dates in Dublin, Paris, and London, which he characterized as successful fundraising events involving dozens of guest performers and speakers.
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Macklemore said tour organizers initially received scheduling availability running through the end of the year from prominent facilities across the country, but stated that venue managements abruptly closed discussions once they learned the events were benefit shows for Palestine.
"By mid-September, we received available dates at these arenas through the end of the year," Macklemore said. "But once they found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table. The doors were closed. The conversations were all different, but the result was the same. The shows were not going to be allowed to happen in these venues".
The artist specifically identified nine venues that turned down the tour: Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, Prudential Center, and UBS Arena in the New York/New Jersey area; the Intuit Dome, Kia Forum, and Crypto.com Arena in the Los Angeles market; Chase Center in San Francisco; and Climate Pledge Arena in his hometown of Seattle.
Macklemore linked the venue decisions to broader financial leverage and institutional pressures within the entertainment industry, arguing that commercial relationships were taking precedence over free expression.
"I'd rather lose every opportunity in this industry than spend another day protecting people who value their business relationships with Israel more than they value Palestinian human life," he wrote, adding: "To these owners, the words Free Palestine represent a threat. Not because they endanger anyone, but because those words challenge the systems of power they have built their fortunes on".
Addressing fellow creators who hesitate to speak publicly on geopolitical issues, he encouraged artists to prioritize humanitarian advocacy over commercial deals: "I dream of a world where saying Free Palestine is not controversial. It is expected. Where artists value their freedom of speech and collective liberation more than their brand deals".
Despite the venue rejections in major markets, Macklemore vowed that the benefit performances would move forward independently of traditional arena infrastructure.
"They may own the arenas. But they do not own the people who fill them. And they never will," he said. "There will be more shows for Palestine. We’ll keep working with other artists and organizers, continuing where we left off in Europe. We’ll probably just take that shit outside where it belonged in the first place".
