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\n Photo: Kevin Mazur\/Getty Images\n <\/p>\n
Following Macklemore\u2019s exit from Ed Sheeran\u2019s Loop Tour, the British headliner has found himself in the middle of a whirlwind, both literally and figuratively. Sheeran performed his first post-scandal show in Philadelphia on September 19 without a supporting act and then had his next two performances at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts canceled due to extreme-weather forecasts<\/a>. Many ticketholders and onlookers have been left wondering who, if anyone, will sign on to sing alongside Sheeran for the rest of his tour, concluding December 11 in Mexico City. Well, apparently, Isaac Slade, former singer of the Fray. Sheeran resumed his tour this past weekend in Atlanta and brought out the \u201cHow to Save a Life\u201d singer as his opener. (I guess this is how to save a tour.)<\/p>\n It\u2019s not yet clear whether Slade will join Sheeran as an opener on the rest of his Loop Tour beyond Atlanta, though it\u2019s clear that he doesn\u2019t mind being caught in the middle of this controversial moment. \u201cEverybody seems to be taking sides in this world, and that\u2019s good,\u201d Slade said during his set<\/a>. \u201cWhat\u2019s happening over there [in Gaza] is wrong, but if we\u2019re going to get through it, we\u2019re going to need people to step into that middle place, that common ground.\u201d Sheeran himself made a very similar statement about trying to \u201cbuild bridges\u201d and \u201ckeep conversations open, not closed\u201d in an Instagram post following Macklemore\u2019s exit<\/a>, but he was met with backlash by those who felt he had been complicit.<\/p>\n Back in early September, Sheeran\u2019s promoter dropped Macklemore from the Loop Tour for his onstage statements about Palestine <\/a>at MetLife Stadium, triggering the other supporting acts \u2014 Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe \u2014 to withdraw from the tour<\/a> in solidarity. While Sheeran likely struggles to find artists willing to take a public stand with him given all the heat, Macklemore announced and sold out the first three dates and locations for his \u201cFree Palestine Tour,\u201d<\/a> which will donate all proceeds to organizations supporting Palestine and the Free Palestine movement. The \u201cfriends\u201d of \u201cMacklemore and Friends\u201d have yet to be announced, but it\u2019s safe to say that there won\u2019t be any overlap with whoever joins Sheeran\u2019s highly contentious middle ground <\/a>as a supporting act on the rest of his tour.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Vulture Daily<\/p>\n An entertainment newsletter for the pop-culture obsessed.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n