Key Takeaways
- Ed Sheeran removed the B stage from his Sept. 19 Loop Tour show at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field, telling roughly 50,000 fans he feared what might be thrown at him.
- Sheeran opened the concert by apologizing to the crowd for a turbulent week of decisions, then addressed Israel and Gaza directly, calling the Oct. 7 attacks "horrific" and the situation in Gaza "catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate."
- The show followed Macklemore's removal from the tour over "Free Palestine" remarks and a "Hind's Hall" performance, which led Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe, and house band Beoga to withdraw in protest.
- Sheeran performed with a band organized by violinist Alicia Enstrom that had only three days to learn the set, and his next tour dates land Sept. 25 and 26 at Robert Kraft's Gillette Stadium.
Ed Sheeran made his tour stop in Philadelphia on Saturday (Sept. 19) and told the audience he had removed the center stage from his concert over safety concerns.
The singer said during the show at Lincoln Financial Field that he was “afraid of what might happen” if he stood on a B stage in the middle of the crowd, admitting that he didn’t know whether things would be thrown at him.
It was Sheeran’s first concert since Macklemore was pulled from the Loop Tour and since every supporting act on the bill walked away.
Sheeran opened the night with an apology to the roughly 50,000 people in front of him. He said the turbulent week had forced difficult decisions, some of which turned out to be mistakes, and told the crowd he was "so, so sorry."
He then addressed Israel and Gaza from the stage. Sheeran called the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel "horrific" while describing what is happening to civilians in Gaza as "catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate.”
"This is a humanitarian issue, and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore," he said.
He told the crowd he had questioned whether the tour should continue at all and whether he still wanted to be an artist.
"I've never wanted to be an activist musician, 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," Sheeran said.
The collapse started Monday (Sept. 14), when Macklemore was dropped from the tour for making "Free Palestine" remarks and performing his political song "Hind's Hall" at MetLife Stadium. Promoter Messina Touring Group pointed to venues that would not allow him on the lineup.
The other exits from Sheeran’s tour followed quickly: Supporting acts Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe withdrew in solidarity. Beoga, Sheeran's house band for the run, also left in protest.
That left Sheeran onstage in Philadelphia with a hastily assembled group organized with violinist Alicia Enstrom, and he credited the musicians who had three days to learn the set.
The next test comes Sept. 25 and 26 at Massachusetts’ Gillette Stadium, the venue owned by Robert Kraft, whom Macklemore accused of leading the pressure campaign against him.
