Rahim Siddiq

Macklemore has accused nine major U.S. music venues of refusing to host his “Free Palestine” charity tour, including Madison Square Garden and the Kia Forum. “After weeks of reaching out, nine major American arenas have turned us down,” Macklemore wrote on Instagram. “By mid-September, we received available dates at these arenas through the end of the year. But once they found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table. The doors were closed. The conversations were all different, but the result was the same. The shows were not going to be allowed to happen in these venues.” “In over 20 years of touring, I’ve never experienced anything like this,” he wrote. “I’d rather lose every opportunity in this industry than spend another day protecting people who value their business relationships with Israel more than they value Palestinian human life.” “We live in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech. Yet we’ve reached a point where a handful of billionaires can decide which causes are acceptable, which voices are welcome and which human lives are worth defending,” he later wrote. “Today it’s Palestine. What will it be tomorrow?” variety.com/2026/music/news/…