Ed Sheeran’s back-to-back stadium concerts scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, were cancelled due to severe weather warnings across New England. Messina Touring, the tour’s promoter, announced the cancellations following consultations with local officials, citing the safety of fans, staff, and crew as the top priority.
Severe Weather Warnings Force Foxborough Cancellations
High wind warnings remained in force across the Boston area through the early hours of Sunday, prompting local officials to urge drivers to minimize travel. According to Messina Touring’s statement, ticketholders who purchased tickets through Ticketmaster will receive automatic refunds, while others can claim refunds at their original point of purchase.
Macklemore Tour Controversy and Backstage Fallout
The weather cancellations arrive on the heels of intense media scrutiny surrounding the tour. Last week, rapper Macklemore was removed from the bill after making pro-Palestinian comments on stage at earlier tour stops, calling for a “free Palestine” and referencing “genocide” in Gaza alongside displaying images of the region. Stadium owners, including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft—whose Kraft Group owns Gillette Stadium—lobbied for the rapper’s removal, with Kraft accusing Macklemore of hate speech.
Sheeran stated that the decision to drop Macklemore came from the tour’s promoter rather than himself. The promoter clarified that venue owners would have refused to let the concerts proceed if Macklemore remained on the lineup. In response to the removal, Sheeran’s other supporting acts and backing artists withdrew from the tour in protest. Returning to the stage last weekend at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Sheeran told the audience he had questioned whether he wanted to continue as an artist, describing the situation in Gaza as catastrophic while apologizing for mistakes made during the controversy.
Related International Tour Announcements
Following his removal from the US dates, Macklemore announced a European tour titled Free Palestine, with scheduled performances in Dublin, London, and Paris. Meanwhile, Sheeran's stalled New England weekend leaves the promoter and tour management managing refund logistics while handling the ongoing fallout from the artist lineup changes.
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