Pro-Palestinian Dearborn Mayor Offers Macklemore Free Concert Funded By City Following Ed Sheeran Tour Fiasco

Macklemore got a lifeline from an unexpected corner after stadium owners blacklisted him for his Palestinian activism.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud stepped up with an invitation that turned the whole situation on its head, offering the rapper a free concert sponsored by the city after he was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s “Loop Tour.”

Hammoud posted on X: “If they don’t want you performing in their stadiums, you’re always welcome in Dearborn. Come put on a show here. We’ll make it a free concert, sponsored by the City, and help make it one of the best around. We stand with you and for a free Palestine. Let’s make it happen.”

The rapper had been opening for Sheeran at massive venues, but everything changed when he took the stage at MetLife Stadium on September 4 and 5 and delivered a two-minute speech declaring “Free Palestine” to the crowd.

He wore a keffiyeh, performed his protest anthem “Hind’s Hall” with Gaza imagery, and made it clear he wasn’t backing down. That’s when things got real.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft didn’t waste time. He objected to Macklemore performing at Gillette Stadium on September 25 and 26, and he rallied other stadium owners to create an ultimatum for Sheeran.

Kraft said in a statement: “Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line.”

He also stated: “This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf. Their pain and loss are real.”

Kraft concluded: “Ultimately our goal is the same – peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate.”

But Hammoud, Dearborn’s first Muslim and Arab-American mayor, saw an opportunity, according to the Detroit Free Press.

He’s been outspoken about Palestinian rights, calling Israel an apartheid state, and he’s got personal stakes in this fight. Fourteen of his cousins in Lebanon were killed in April 8 Israeli attacks.

The city even erected a “Wall of Tears” mural listing the names of Palestinian children killed in Gaza.

Macklemore visited Dearborn back in September 2024 for an Arab American civil rights convention, hung out with Hammoud at a Fordson High School football game, and received a proclamation from the city along with the Rachel Corrie Award.

The connection is already there. Macklemore hasn’t responded to Hammoud’s invitation yet, leaving the whole thing hanging in the air.