{"id":909667,"date":"2026-09-25T23:22:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T23:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/909667\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T23:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T23:22:12","slug":"ed-sheerans-shows-at-robert-krafts-gillette-stadium-cancelled-due-to-bad-weather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/909667\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran\u2019s shows at Robert Kraft\u2019s Gillette Stadium cancelled due to bad weather"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 5 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Ed Sheeran\u2019s concerts at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts have been cancelled due to severe weather warnings, the latest blow to a tour that has been mired in controversy since opener Macklemore was dropped for on-stage pro-Palestinian comments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Macklemore was dropped from the tour’s U.S. leg after stadium owners including billionaire Robert Kraft threatened to cancel Sheeran’s shows<\/a> if the rapper remained on the lineup, triggering an exodus as Sheeran\u2019s remaining openers pulled out in solidarity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, Sheeran will no longer be performing at Kraft\u2019s Gillette Stadium on Friday and Saturday. Local weather reports are calling for a storm with gusts of wind up to 64 kilometres per hour in Foxborough, where the stadium is located, outside of Boston.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to the severe weather warnings in place in Boston and across New England throughout the weekend and following consultation with local officials, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Ed Sheeran concerts at Gillette Stadium,\u201d Messina Touring, Sheeran\u2019s touring group, said in an Instagram statement<\/a>. The venue shared the same statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All tickets will be refunded through their point of purchase, the touring group added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The cancellation comes a day after Macklemore announced a new tour of his own<\/a>, with proceeds going to organizations supporting Palestinians. He slammed what he called \u201cthe billionaire class\u201d deciding \u201cwhich voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear,\u201d quipping that his schedule had recently \u201cfreed up a bit\u201d since being dropped as an opener.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s 2026. Being apolitical during a genocide doesn\u2019t work anymore,” he wrote. <\/p>\n

An independent UN commission <\/a>and Amnesty International<\/a> have concluded that Israel’s actions against Palestinians in Gaza amount to genocide, which the country has consistently denied. <\/p>\n

\"AMacklemore performs in May 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Morgan Hancock\/Getty Images)Macklemore played 2 shows before being dropped<\/p>\n

Before being pulled from the roster, Macklemore had played two shows in early September at New Jersey\u2019s MetLife Stadium for the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour. In speeches during those sets, he chanted, \u201cFree Palestine\u201d to a cheering crowd and expressed solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and their home base Gillette Stadium, was one of those behind the push for Macklemore\u2019s removal, according to Messina, Macklemore and Sheeran, who said he spoke on the phone with Kraft<\/a> during discussions about the push to remove the rapper. <\/p>\n

Sheeran has said the decision was solely due to venues and promoters, and that they would not change their minds. <\/p>\n

In a statement about Macklemore’s removal, Sheeran said he was “appalled by the conflict” but defended his choice not to take a public stance. <\/p>\n

Kraft told CBC News in a statement at the time<\/a> that due to Macklemore\u2019s New Jersey shows and \u201ca broader history of antisemitic rhetoric,\u201d he believed performances at Gillette Stadium would \u201ccross that line.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rapper was also widely criticized in 2014 for<\/a> wearing a Halloween costume that many said was antisemitic. He apologized for the incident at the time.<\/p>\n

Openers Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Finneas pulled out of the tour after Macklemore\u2019s ousting, as did Sheeran\u2019s backing band, Irish group Beoga.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be able to speak about war, about civilians being killed.\u2026 Money doesn\u2019t give you the right to own the conversation,\u201d Graham wrote on Instagram.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fans seeking refunds<\/p>\n

The Gillette tour dates would have been Sheeran’s second and third shows since losing his supporting acts.<\/p>\n

At his first show without the acts on Sept. 19 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Sheeran apologized to the crowd, saying he never wanted to be an “activist musician” and that “what is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable.” He added that he is “listening and learning.”<\/p>\n

Pro-Palestinian protesters outside the venue called on other fans to boycott the show, criticizing Sheeran’s apolitical stance. Prices have also sagged for remaining tickets since the controversy began.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"APro-Palestinian demonstrators hold signs during a Free Palestine protest before Sheeran’s concert in Philadelphia on Sept. 19. (Allie Ippolito\/The Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Prior to the total cancellation of the Massachusetts shows, the state’s attorney general had said that consumers looking for refunds due to the lineup changes would be granted them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter hearing from nearly 200 consumers who were struggling to obtain refunds from Ticketmaster for Ed Sheeran\u2019s shows at Gillette Stadium this weekend, my office jumped into action to demand that consumers be provided a clear path to get their money back if they no longer want to attend due to significant changes to the lineup,\u201d Andrea Joy Campbell said in a statement.<\/a><\/p>\n

Ticketmaster’s policy allows for openers to change without requiring that audiences be eligible for refunds. But Campbell said after her office submitted a request to the company, it made an exception for the Sept. 25 and 26 shows.<\/p>\n

WATCH | Culture critic dissects Sheeran’s handling of controversy:\"\"<\/p>\n

Did Ed Sheeran\u2019s concert statement meet the moment?<\/p>\n

Culture critic David Dennis Jr. joins Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud to break down Ed Sheeran’s onstage comments during his first concert after removing Macklemore from the tour.