Ed Sheeran Loop Tour Loses Openers After Macklemore Removal

All four supporting acts for Ed Sheeran's Loop tour have withdrawn in solidarity with Macklemore, leaving the tour without its scheduled openers or live band.

The final exits, Finneas and Danish pop band Lukas Graham, came on Tuesday afternoon, according to the latest account of the sequence. The Guardian In total, the four departures comprised three openers, the smaller acts who perform before the headliner, and the live band.

Macklemore was removed from the rest of Sheeran's stadium tour after pro-Palestine comments made during two shows at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium. Rolling Stone He said on Monday, 14 September 2026, that he was dropped from the U.S. tour after his pro-Palestinian comments and "Free Palestine" remarks. Reuters

The remarks at issue were made on 4 September. Macklemore delivered a two-minute onstage speech saying "free Palestine" and that people of Gaza and the occupied West Bank had not been forgotten.

Sheeran addressed the removal in a statement posted to Instagram. He described pressure from venue owners to remove Macklemore. Among those owners was Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, who opposed Macklemore's place on the tour. Separately, the Israeli American Council circulated a petition calling for Macklemore's removal from the tour.

Irish singer Aaron Rowe withdrew from the tour. He was scheduled for the 10 remaining North American dates and had opened for Sheeran in Australia earlier this year. The Guardian Rowe was identified alongside Lukas Graham as departing openers.

Irish band Beoga withdrew from the U.S. tour to protest Macklemore's removal. Lukas Graham withdrew on Tuesday afternoon. Finneas withdrew on Tuesday afternoon. He was scheduled to open for Sheeran on six South American dates in November. Finneas said he withdrew from tour dates with Sheeran and stands with Palestine and its people.

The broader context here is a dispute over who controls speech on a commercial tour. A stadium tour works like a joint venture. The headliner, support acts, promoters and venue owners share risk and authority. Venue owners control access to the buildings. Petition campaigns add external pressure. Support acts control their own participation.

Looking at what this means for the Loop tour, the operational question is immediate. Three scheduled openers and the live band have left at once. That affects the North American dates still to be played and the six South American dates in November assigned to Finneas. Replacement, cancellation or restructuring of the live show are the available paths. Each carries contractual and logistical consequences.

For observers of cultural politics, the episode also clarifies the mechanics of solidarity withdrawals. Rowe, Beoga, Lukas Graham and Finneas did not issue a joint statement described in the available accounts. They withdrew separately and arrived at the same outcome. That pattern increases pressure on the headliner without requiring coordination among the departing acts. It also shifts attention from the initial removal to the viability of continuing without support personnel.