{"id":621261,"date":"2026-09-19T19:06:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T19:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/621261\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T19:06:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T19:06:16","slug":"dropkick-murphys-ken-casey-criticizes-ed-sheeran-over-macklemore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/621261\/","title":{"rendered":"Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey Criticizes Ed Sheeran Over Macklemore"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tKen Casey is calling out Ed Sheeran<\/a> following Macklemore<\/a>\u2019s departure from the British singer\u2019s Loop Tour.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Dropkick Murphys frontman addressed the situation during an interview with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday (Sept. 16), discussing the rapper\u2019s removal from the stadium tour after his onstage comments supporting Palestinians and criticizing Israel\u2019s war in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI know that, as a musician for 30 years, anytime we\u2019ve gone on tour we\u2019ve selected the bands that have opened for us \u2014 that\u2019s brotherhood, sisterhood, that\u2019s family,\u201d Casey said<\/a>. \u201cYou live or die with the people you bring on the road. They\u2019re your people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe punk veteran added, \u201cAnd the fact that Ed Sheeran took the knee, no matter what the cause is, and not stood with his fellow tour partner, just doesn\u2019t, you know, sit right with me. And that\u2019s not how Dropkick Murphys would operate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMacklemore was dropped from the Loop Tour<\/a> after just two shows, with the trek\u2019s U.S. promoter, Messina Touring<\/a> Group, announcing his removal on Sept. 14 amid growing calls for his departure. Sheeran and his team were also allegedly pressured by some stadium owners on the tour, including Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft.<\/p>\n

\n\tCasey noted that promoters should not have a say in what artists say onstage, citing Dropkick Murphys\u2019 experience at the 2025 Rocklahoma Festival in Oklahoma, where the band made statements against the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe said what we have to say onstage every night, and probably about 50 percent of the audience walked away,\u201d Casey said. \u201cAnd I was told immediately afterwards that angered the owner of the site, and I\u2019m sure we won\u2019t get invited back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Dropkick Murphys frontman added that it\u2019s important for artists to stand by their beliefs.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAll the artists I loved as a kid, no matter what, it was that they stand by what they sing about,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce you let that go, then you don\u2019t have any worth in your music if you ask me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFollowing Macklemore\u2019s removal, the remaining opening acts on Sheeran\u2019s Loop Tour also dropped out of their scheduled performances, beginning with Aaron Rowe<\/a>. Finneas and Lukas Graham later announced that they would no longer appear on the trek.<\/p>\n

\n\tMacklemore subsequently announced that he would donate his entire $1 million<\/a> earnings from the Loop Tour to humanitarian organizations providing aid to Palestinians, and challenged Kraft to match the donation. The New England Patriots owner later responded, saying Sheeran had previously asked him to \u201ccommit\u201d $2 million<\/a> to humanitarian efforts.<\/p>\n


\"Billboard
<\/a><\/p>\n