{"id":643604,"date":"2026-10-03T12:54:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T12:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/643604\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T12:54:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T12:54:10","slug":"zach-bryan-wears-free-palestine-shirt-during-concert-at-robert-krafts-gillette-stadium-after-macklemore-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/643604\/","title":{"rendered":"Zach Bryan wears ‘Free Palestine’ shirt during concert at Robert Kraft’s Gillette Stadium \u2014 after Macklemore controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Country singer Zach Bryan wore a \u201cFree Palestine\u201d shirt during his concert at Robert Kraft\u2019s Gillette Stadium Friday night \u2014 one month after the Jewish\u00a0NFL owner barred Macklemore<\/a> over his anti-Israel rant. <\/p>\n

Bryan, 30, donned a black T-shirt emblazoned with white 3D lettering that read \u201cFREE PALESTINE\u201d as he took the stage for his sold-out show in Foxborough, Ma., on Friday night<\/p>\n

A picture of a pine tree sat below, dividing it from the remainder of the message that read \u201cAN APPEAL TO HEAVEN.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zach Bryan wore a \u201cFree Palestine\u201d shirt during his concert at Robert Kraft\u2019s Gillette Stadium on Oct. 2, 2026. Facebook\/Jessica Golich\u00bf<\/p>\n

A \u201cPine Tree\u201d flag and \u201cAppeal to Heaven\u201d are references to an American Revolutionary campaign connected to George Washington\u2019s command of the Continental Army.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome American colonists embraced the idea that God could be summoned to help them defend their natural rights,\u201d the National Park Service said about the flag and slogan.<\/p>\n

The \u201cRevival\u201d singer wasn\u2019t alone as several of his band members also wore Palestine-branded clothing.<\/p>\n

Guitarist Noah Le Gros wore a green Palestine soccer jersey onstage alongside Bryan, later sharing a picture of himself in the shirt standing in front of Kraft Sports and Entertainment signage. <\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s concert kicked off a two-night run at Kraft\u2019s stadium as part of the closing leg of his \u201cWith Heaven on Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cRevival\u201d singer wasn\u2019t alone as several of his band members also wore Palestine-branded clothing. Facebook\/Angie D’Amours<\/p>\n

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft on the field of Gillette Stadium with Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II before a game on Sept. 20, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Bryan\u2019s public \u201cFree Palestine\u201d promotion comes just under a month after Macklemore spewed an anti-Israel during his opening performance for Ed Sheeran\u2019s \u201cLoop\u201d tour at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, on Sept. 4 and 5.<\/p>\n

The \u201cThrift Shop\u201d rapper wore a black-and-white keffiyeh around his neck and called for \u201cfree Palestine\u201d as he focused on the war and for \u201cevery single human being\u201d to have freedom.<\/p>\n

Several NFL owners who were scheduled to host Sheeran\u2019s tour threatened to pull the shows because they didn\u2019t want the rapper\u2019s political speeches at their venues.<\/p>\n

Tour promoter Messina Touring Group reassured the group of owners that Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, wouldn\u2019t share any anti-Israel messages during the second night at MetLife.<\/p>\n

Macklemore wears a keffiyeh during his opener at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 4, 2026. Alec Gearty<\/p>\n

Macklemore was dropped from Ed Sheeran\u2019s tour over his \u201cfree Palestine\u201d rant.<\/p>\n

The rapper didn\u2019t follow the orders and continued, with footage of Gaza and anti-Israel protests displayed on screens behind him onstage.<\/p>\n

\u201cFree Palestine. I want those words to be clear so that people from Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them. This next song was inspired by the bravery of the Columbia University students, who led an encampment movement that mobilized the entire world, opening up hearts \u2014 myself included,\u201d Macklemore said.<\/p>\n

Macklemore was dropped from the remainder of the tour after the stadium owners, led by Kraft, threatened to drop Sheeran\u2019s concerts.<\/p>\n

Sheeran\u2019s Gillette shows were later canceled due to bad weather.<\/p>\n

Zach Bryan\u2019s guitarist Noah Le Gros shared a photo of himself wearing a \u201cPalestine\u201d soccer jersey standing in front of a Kraft Sports and Entertainment sign at the stadium during the concert. @greg_aram\/Instagram<\/p>\n

Kraft and Sheeran, who have a long-standing relationship, spoke about the troubling rapper and agreed to donate money to Palestinian relief efforts. <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEarlier today, before Macklemore challenged me to match his donation, Ed called me and asked me to commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis,\u201d Kraft said in a statement back in September. \u201cEd now plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheeran\u2019s other opening acts dropped out of the tour in solidarity<\/a> with Macklemore, shortly after the rapper was removed.<\/p>\n

\u201cArtists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed. \u2026 I stand with Palestine and its people,\u201d wrote Billie Eilish\u2019s brother Finneas, who had been slated to appear on seven dates.<\/p>\n

Macklemore has since launched his \u201cFree Palestine\u201d tour making stops in Europe, including Dublin, London and Paris.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf these last couple of weeks have shown us anything, it\u2019s that something has shifted over the last three years,\u201d Macklemore wrote on Instagram on Sept. 24.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been a collective awakening around Palestinian liberation, the power of billionaires that try to censor that call, and what we expect from artists right now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Country singer Zach Bryan wore a \u201cFree Palestine\u201d shirt during his concert at Robert Kraft\u2019s Gillette Stadium Friday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":643605,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[922,706,93,61,60,4268,266448,44731],"class_list":["post-643604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-celebrity-news","tag-concerts","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-palestine","tag-robert-kraft","tag-zach-bryan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=643604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643604\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/643605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=643604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=643604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=643604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}