Skip to content 
Country singer Zach Bryan wore a “Free Palestine” T-shirt during his concert at Gillette Stadium near Boston on Friday night, weeks after stadium owner Robert Kraft was accused of pressuring Ed Sheeran to leave his opening act over pro-Palestinian remarks.
Videos on social media showed Bryan, 30, wearing a black cut-off T-shirt with “Free Palestine” in white letters during his tour stop at the stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Kraft, who owns the New England Patriots, is a strong supporter of Israel.
Last month, rapper Macklemore said he was removed from Sheeran’s tour at the behest of Kraft after speaking out in support of Palestinians at the tour’s New Jersey shows.
Kraft did not immediately return a request for comment. He said he did not want to emphasize support for the Palestinians, but to ensure a “great environment” at Gillette Stadium for Sheeran’s tour.
Sheeran’s other opening acts – Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, Finneas and his house band Beoga – pulled out of the tour in protest after Macklemore’s abduction.
Sheeran apologized for how he handled the matter in his first show since news of Macklemore’s removal broke.
“I never wanted to be an activist musician,” Sheeran said, “but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.”
Last week, Macklemore announced a Free Palestine tour for this fall. Gillette Stadium will not be one of his stops.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a flashpoint in pop culture for decades.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 70,000 people there, according to local health authorities. It follows the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, in which more than 1,200 people were killed.
Differences over the war permeated everything from local political contests to the Costume Institute exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Bryan is best known for his songs “Something in the Orange”, “I Remember Everything” with Kacey Musgraves and “Pink Skies”. The Grammy-winning artist served in the US Navy for several years while continuing to write and record music.
