Zach Bryan wore a “Free Palestine” shirt during his concert at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, weeks after rapper Macklemore was barred from performing at the venue following pro-Palestinian remarks.
Bryan was performing the first of two shows at the stadium on Friday, with the second scheduled for Saturday night. Several members of his band also wore shirts carrying similar messages.
The shirt worn by Bryan displayed the words “Free Palestine” alongside “An appeal to heaven” and a pine tree logo.
The phrase “An appeal to heaven” dates back to the American Revolutionary War and appeared on Massachusetts’s official maritime flag until 1971. It was associated with the belief that God would deliver the colonists from tyranny.
Gillette Stadium had not responded to a request for comment.
Macklemore had been due to perform at the venue alongside Ed Sheeran, but Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, told Sheeran that the rapper would not be allowed to take part.
Kraft later said: “Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line.”
Macklemore responded that “Antisemitism is real”, but argued that criticism of Israel and saying “Free Palestine” should not be conflated with hatred of Jewish people.
All the other supporting acts for Sheeran’s tour withdrew in solidarity with Macklemore. He later pledged to donate $1 million to support Palestinians and called on Kraft to match the contribution.
Kraft said he had already spoken to Sheeran about matching the singer’s own pledge of $2 million. Sheeran’s two Gillette Stadium concerts were ultimately cancelled because of a nor’easter affecting the area that weekend.
