Macklemore turns an Ed Sheeran stadium show into a political flashpoint - and the fallout is still going
Opening for Sheeran's Loop Tour at MetLife, the rapper performed 'Hind's Hall,' called for a free Palestine in front of 80,000 people, and now a petition wants him off the rest of the run.
In brief
Macklemore turns an Ed Sheeran stadium show into a political flashpoint - and the fallout is still going
Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour was supposed to be the feel-good event of the fall stadium season. It wasn't, at least not last weekend in New Jersey. Macklemore, booked as an opening act, walked out onto the MetLife Stadium stage Friday night and immediately made clear that music was not his only agenda. By the time he left, a petition was circulating, Jewish advocacy groups were demanding he be fired, and the internet was doing what it does. No statement from Sheeran. No statement from his team. Just 80,000 concertgoers arguing about what a concert is allowed to be.
Macklemore opened for Ed Sheeran at MetLife Stadium wearing a keffiyeh, performed "Hind's Hall" with Gaza footage on the screens, and told the crowd he wanted those in Gaza and the West Bank to know "they have not been forgotten." Prefacing the song, Macklemore told the audience: "A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine."
Macklemore wrote "Hind's Hall" in 2024 in support of pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, named for Columbia students' renaming of academic Hamilton Hall to Hind's Hall, in honor of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was killed in the Gaza Strip. He has directed proceeds from the song to humanitarian efforts from the UNRWA. He repeated the performance Saturday night, his second consecutive night at MetLife.
Macklemore assumed the lead support slot on Sheeran's Loop Tour in late August 2026, a run spanning 22 cities through November across stadiums including Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, and Gillette Stadium, with Macklemore booked across 10 dates. That last detail matters: this wasn't a one-night stand. He has nine more dates on the calendar, and nobody knows yet whether he'll be on them.
After the 4x Grammy winner took the stage for Sheeran's Loop Tour, the Israeli-American Council started a petition urging Sheeran to "remove Macklemore" from the remainder of the tour. The IAC, which represents more than 150,000 Israeli-Americans, said: "This was an Ed Sheeran concert - not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event." The petition argues that the issue is not Macklemore's right to hold political views, but rather "where the line should be drawn when an opening act uses the platform of a global concert tour to advance a one-sided political agenda."
TMZ reported that the Israeli-American Council argued that fans paid for a concert, not a political rally. The petition did not publicly show how many signatures it had collected. As of Sunday, Sheeran had not publicly responded to the controversy, and messages left for representatives of Macklemore, Ed Sheeran and the concert promoters AEG and the Messina Group were not returned, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Macklemore did address part of the pushback directly from the stage. He addressed the Jewish community, saying: "Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is criticism of you. My message is for peace, love and for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect and equality." The reactions to his remarks were far from unanimous.
On social media, some concertgoers said they walked out because they had not expected a "political rally," accusing Macklemore of antisemitism. Others applauded his remarks, writing "Music has always been a vital platform for human rights advocacy, not just mindless escape."
The timing adds another layer. In August 2026, the Israel Defense Forces publicly acknowledged for the first time that its troops fired on the vehicle carrying Hind Rajab and her family in Gaza in January 2024, and announced a military police criminal investigation into that incident and the shelling of an approaching Red Crescent ambulance, according to The Guardian. Macklemore, who has been outspoken on the conflict since 2023, chose this moment to take the song back to stadium scale.
The Israeli-American Council is calling for Macklemore to be dropped from the opening slot on Sheeran's U.S. tour for chanting "Free Palestine" and accusing Israel of apartheid and genocide during his performances at MetLife Stadium on Friday and Saturday nights, per JTA. Mark Treyger, CEO of the New York Jewish Coalition, urged Sheeran and his team to heed concerns about Macklemore's performance, warning that one-sided political messaging at a major concert divides people.
None of this is entirely new territory for Macklemore. TMZ noted that Macklemore has been outspoken on the Israel-Palestine conflict for years. Back in 2024, singer-songwriter Matisyahu ripped "Hind's Hall" as antisemitic, telling TMZ he believed the song was only making an already ugly divide worse. Macklemore also sparked outrage that same year when he chanted "f*** America" during a pro-Palestinian festival in Seattle.
What's different now is the venue. MetLife is one of the biggest sheds in the country - it seats 82,500 and is also slated to host eight matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This wasn't a rap festival or a niche protest show. It was a mainstream pop event headlined by arguably the most broadly liked pop artist on the planet, and Macklemore dropped a combustible political set right in the middle of it. Whether the venue or Sheeran's team will act on the Israeli-American Council's petition remains unclear, as neither has issued a public response, Hoodline reported.
General onsale for the next leg of Loop Tour dates begins this week. The next show is already sold out.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
