Ed Sheeran and Macklemore: why did Philadelphia change everything?

MetLife, then the domino effect: a tour emptied in ten days

It all starts in New Jersey. On September 4 and 5, at MetLife Stadium, Macklemore warms up the crowd as the opening act. He launches "Free Palestine" and plays Hind’s Hall, his 2024 track about Gaza. Nothing new for the Seattle rapper, who has publicly supported this cause for two years.

The rest happens offstage. On September 14, Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, calls Ed Sheeran for forty minutes. With other NFL franchise owners, he calls the rapper's remarks hate speech and threatens to cancel the affected dates. The promoter, Messina Touring Group, decides: Macklemore leaves the tour.

Ed Sheeran repeats that the decision is the promoter's, not his. Too late to break the loop. Finneas, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe withdraw in solidarity, and Beoga, the Irish band that accompanied him on stage, follows suit. In a few days, the Loop Tour loses all its layers, one by one.

One man, one pedal, fifty thousand eyes

To understand the evening, you have to go back to Ed Sheeran's favorite tool: the loop station. A pedal that records guitar, voice, percussion, then plays them back in a loop to build an entire song by one person. This Saturday, the principle becomes a necessity.

The singer even removed the B-stage, the small stage planted in the middle of the crowd. He explains he removed it out of fear of what could happen if he stood in the heart of the crowd. Before the first note, he reads a prepared text on a teleprompter, already partly published on Instagram during the week.

He says he never wanted to be a political commentator, and wants concerts focused on unity. On the substance, he calls the October 7 attack at the Nova festival horrible. What is happening in Gaza, to him, is catastrophic, unjustifiable and disproportionate.

He adds that he is already talking with interlocutors from all sides to help victims. He is also worried to see stadiums pre-approve artists' content. Can a concert still remain neutral when the stadium itself enters the debate?

What remains of the Sheeran-Macklemore loop?

The story weighs even more because the two men know each other well. In 2015, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis released Growing Up (Sloane’s Song), a letter from a father to his daughter, with Ed Sheeran on the chorus. A track recorded by two, long before the loop broke.

In his long Instagram message, Macklemore mentions difficult conversations with his friend, ending on a fundamental disagreement. He reproaches him for not taking a stand and refocuses the point: "The victims are the Palestinian people." Robert Kraft assures on his side that his decision is not meant to minimize the suffering of Palestinian civilians, while recalling Hamas's responsibility.

There is the money, this time donated to humanitarian aid. Macklemore announces donating 1 million dollars, all his net tour earnings, to six organizations helping Palestinians, and challenges Kraft to follow. Ed Sheeran commits to 2 million, Kraft announces the same amount. On streaming, listens to Macklemore, Aaron Rowe and Beoga rise sharply, Sheeran's remain stable.

The clip below has nothing to do with the September crisis. That's exactly why it should be watched again: it shows what the controversy put on pause, a friendship capable of producing a full song with two voices.

After Philadelphia: Foxborough, the most trapped date of the tour

The show held. 29 songs, nearly three hours, Shape of You, Perfect, Thinking Out Loud and a cover of Superstition. The band assembled in three days plays tight, and the stadium responds by chanting "We love you, Ed".

At the end, the singer breaks down. He talks about one of the worst weeks of his life and relatives distancing themselves, while his cousin Jethro just publicly wrote he is ashamed of him. Then he looks at the crowd and says he sees 50,000 people who have not abandoned him. He will call the evening the best concert of his career.

The resale market had sensed the storm: ticket prices for Philadelphia dropped by nearly 60%. Next step, the Gillette Stadium, September 25 and 26. Robert Kraft's stadium. Watch these two nights closely: the loop will be replayed at the man who weighed in on Macklemore's removal.