Ed Sheeran’s weekend concerts at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., have been canceled as a Nor’easter storm heads for the East Coast.
Both TMZ and The Boston Globe reported that the shows were canceled Friday. According to Sheeran’s Loop Tour website, he was scheduled to play shows Friday and Saturday at the stadium.
The singer’s tour has already courted controversy. Earlier this month, the news that opening act Macklemore was dropped from the tour over pro-Palestinian comments was met with backlash.
Macklemore – who announced three tour dates in Europe to benefit Palestinian organizations – was replaced by Danish band Lukas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe before they backed out and Finneas, Billie Eilish’s brother and musical collaborator, was due to tour with Sheeran in South America but he also backed out. Sheeran has played most of the tour solo, including a show at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa., last weekend. Pro-Palestinian protestors marched outside the stadium, per the Associated Press.
While speaking to the audience in Philadelphia, Sheeran admitted to making mistakes and said that he never wanted to be a “political” musician.
“Honoring my commitment to my fans is completely central to who I am. That’s why I’m here tonight, on my own, continuing my current tour,” he said. “But I am… I am deeply worried about the idea that venues should pre-approve content of performers. This happens in so many places that I’ve performed around the world, but it should never happen in the free world.”
Regarding the “situation of Israel and Palestine,” Sheeran said the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on a music festival in Israel by Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas was horrible and “compounded centuries of Jewish pain.” He also said “what is happening in Gaza is catastrophic, and unjustifiable and disproportionate.”
TMZ and the Boston Globe both said the Boston-area tour dates were canceled due to weather. The Nor’easter is expected to bring wind, rain and flooding to the Northeastern U.S.
