Macklemore Says 9 Major U.S. Arenas Refused to Host His Free Palestine Tour — “We Will Build Our Own Stages”

Macklemore is calling out some of the biggest concert venues in America, and he is not mincing words. The Seattle rapper says nine major U.S. arenas turned down his Free Palestine Tour — and he believes the reason has everything to do with the message behind the shows.

In a lengthy statement posted to Instagram on Friday, November 6, Macklemore told fans he had always planned to bring the benefit tour home to the United States after three sold-out shows in Dublin, Paris, and London. Instead, he says, the doors slammed shut. The venues he named are Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, and UBS Arena in New York; Prudential Center in New Jersey; Intuit Dome, Kia Forum, and Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles; Chase Center in San Francisco; and Climate Pledge Arena in his hometown of Seattle.

According to Macklemore, his team had available dates at those arenas through the end of 2026 as far back as mid-September. He says those dates disappeared once the venues learned the concerts would benefit organizations supporting Palestinians. “In over twenty years of touring, I’ve never experienced anything like this,” he wrote, adding that every conversation ended the same way — the shows were not going to happen in those buildings.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment pushed back on his account. A spokesperson told multiple outlets that its venues have extremely limited availability and described Macklemore as “not an arena-level act” — framing the decision as a business call, not a political one. The other venues have not publicly explained their decisions in detail, and the booking discussions behind each one have not been independently established.

The dispute is the latest chapter in a standoff that started in September, when Macklemore was removed from the remaining U.S. dates of Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour after delivering pro-Palestinian remarks and performing his protest anthem “Hind’s Hall” at MetLife Stadium. Concert promoter Messina Touring Group said venues had warned they would not host Sheeran’s concerts with Macklemore on the bill, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft acknowledged barring the rapper from Gillette Stadium. Macklemore launched the Free Palestine Tour in response, kicking off October 26 at 3Arena in Dublin, with proceeds supporting organizations providing medical care, education, advocacy, and humanitarian relief to Palestinians.

Despite the setback, Macklemore says the tour is not over — it is just changing shape. He told fans he will keep working with artists and organizers to stage more shows, likely outdoors rather than inside traditional arenas. “We will build our own stages,” he wrote. “They may own the arenas. But they do not own the people who fill them. And they never will.”

Watch Macklemore’s “Hind’s Hall” — the song at the center of this whole standoff — right here:

What do you think — is this about business, or is it about the message? Drop your thoughts in the comments, hit us with your requests, and keep it locked to Kiss 101.7 Online. Call the request line at +1 302-357-9831 and let us know where you stand.

Source: TMZ, XXL and HotNewHipHop