Ed Sheeran’s shows at Robert Kraft’s Gillette Stadium cancelled due to bad weather

Ed Sheeran’s concerts at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts have been cancelled due to severe weather warnings, the latest blow to a tour that has been mired in controversy since opener Macklemore was dropped for on-stage pro-Palestinian comments. 

Earlier this month, Macklemore was dropped from the tour’s U.S. leg after stadium owners including billionaire Robert Kraft threatened to cancel Sheeran’s shows if the rapper remained on the lineup, triggering an exodus as Sheeran’s remaining openers pulled out in solidarity. 

Now, Sheeran will no longer be performing at Kraft’s Gillette Stadium on Friday and Saturday. Local weather reports are calling for a storm with gusts of wind up to 64 kilometres per hour in Foxborough, where the stadium is located, outside of Boston. 

“Due to the severe weather warnings in place in Boston and across New England throughout the weekend and following consultation with local officials, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Ed Sheeran concerts at Gillette Stadium,” Messina Touring, Sheeran’s touring group, said in an Instagram statement. The venue shared the same statement. 

All tickets will be refunded through their point of purchase, the touring group added. 

The cancellation comes a day after Macklemore announced a new tour of his own, with proceeds going to organizations supporting Palestinians. He slammed what he called “the billionaire class” deciding “which voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear,” quipping that his schedule had recently “freed up a bit” since being dropped as an opener.

“It’s 2026. Being apolitical during a genocide doesn’t work anymore,” he wrote.

An independent UN commission and Amnesty International have concluded that Israel’s actions against Palestinians in Gaza amount to genocide, which the country has consistently denied.

Macklemore played 2 shows before being dropped

Before being pulled from the roster, Macklemore had played two shows in early September at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium for the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour. In speeches during those sets, he chanted, “Free Palestine” to a cheering crowd and expressed solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. 

Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and their home base Gillette Stadium, was one of those behind the push for Macklemore’s removal, according to Messina, Macklemore and Sheeran, who said he spoke on the phone with Kraft during discussions about the push to remove the rapper.

Sheeran has said the decision was solely due to venues and promoters, and that they would not change their minds.

In a statement about Macklemore’s removal, Sheeran said he was “appalled by the conflict” but defended his choice not to take a public stance.

Kraft told CBC News in a statement at the time that due to Macklemore’s New Jersey shows and “a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric,” he believed performances at Gillette Stadium would “cross that line.”

The rapper was also widely criticized in 2014 for wearing a Halloween costume that many said was antisemitic. He apologized for the incident at the time.

Openers Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Finneas pulled out of the tour after Macklemore’s ousting, as did Sheeran’s backing band, Irish group Beoga. 

“We should be able to speak about war, about civilians being killed.… Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation,” Graham wrote on Instagram. 

Fans seeking refunds

The Gillette tour dates would have been Sheeran’s second and third shows since losing his supporting acts.

At his first show without the acts on Sept. 19 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Sheeran apologized to the crowd, saying he never wanted to be an “activist musician” and that “what is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable.” He added that he is “listening and learning.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters outside the venue called on other fans to boycott the show, criticizing Sheeran’s apolitical stance. Prices have also sagged for remaining tickets since the controversy began. 

Prior to the total cancellation of the Massachusetts shows, the state’s attorney general had said that consumers looking for refunds due to the lineup changes would be granted them. 

“After hearing from nearly 200 consumers who were struggling to obtain refunds from Ticketmaster for Ed Sheeran’s shows at Gillette Stadium this weekend, my office jumped into action to demand that consumers be provided a clear path to get their money back if they no longer want to attend due to significant changes to the lineup,” Andrea Joy Campbell said in a statement.

Ticketmaster’s policy allows for openers to change without requiring that audiences be eligible for refunds. But Campbell said after her office submitted a request to the company, it made an exception for the Sept. 25 and 26 shows.

WATCH | Culture critic dissects Sheeran’s handling of controversy:

Did Ed Sheeran’s concert statement meet the moment?

Culture critic David Dennis Jr. joins Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud to break down Ed Sheeran’s onstage comments during his first concert after removing Macklemore from the tour.