Just weeks after Macklemore was removed from Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour amid objections to his pro-Palestinian performances, Zach Bryan walked onto the stage at one of the venues at the center of that controversy wearing a “Free Palestine” shirt.
Then he did it again the next night — while breaking the venue’s attendance record.
Bryan drew 73,538 fans to Gillette Stadium on Saturday, October 3, the largest crowd for any event in the Massachusetts stadium’s history. He had also worn the shirt during his Friday show, while members of his band displayed their own messages of support for Palestinians.
The timing makes the shows difficult to separate from what happened there just weeks earlier.
Same Stadium, Different Circumstances
Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft had previously confirmed that Macklemore would not be permitted to perform at the venue as part of Ed Sheeran’s tour.
Macklemore had used earlier Sheeran dates at MetLife Stadium to repeatedly say “Free Palestine,” perform his protest song “Hind’s Hall” and display images from Gaza. Kraft said his objection involved both material presented during those performances and what he characterized as Macklemore’s broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery. Macklemore has disputed that characterization, saying his criticism is directed at Israeli policy rather than Jewish people.
So this isn’t a perfect apples-to-apples comparison. Bryan’s statement was largely visual. Macklemore delivered an extended political performance. And the controversy surrounding Macklemore involved considerably more than the words printed on Bryan’s shirt.
But there is another difference that matters in the live music business. Macklemore was only a support act, Bryan was the top-billing reason 73,538 people were there.
@jaksmusik Zach Bryan and his band repping Free Palestine shirts on night one at Gillette Stadium in Boston Massachusetts. Amazing response to the situation after Robert Kraft had Macklemore barred from performing. Artists will not be silenced. Free Palestine @Macklemore @zachbryanmusic @gillettestadium ♬ original sound - Jak
+Read more: "Everything We Know About the Ed Sheeran – Macklemore Tour Fallout"
Evidence of a Headliner's Leverage
The Macklemore controversy raised a question we’ve already explored at Hypebot: on a stadium tour, who ultimately decides what can happen onstage — the artist, headliner, promoter, or venue?
Free speech is a complicated subject no matter the platform, whether on stage, in an interview or on a record sleeve, or social media, and Bryan’s shows don’t answer that question neatly. They do, however, illustrate how dramatically the balance of power can change depending on where an artist sits on the poster.
Removing an opening act can disrupt a tour. Removing the artist who sold the tickets can jeopardize the structural economy of a live venue. Artists regularly encounter restrictions involving production, sponsorships, curfews, security, branding and what can happen onstage. Those negotiations are shaped not only by contracts and venue policies, but by leverage.
A developing artist needs the room. A superstar capable of filling it has something the room needs, too.
That doesn’t mean headliners can simply do whatever they want, or that Bryan and Macklemore were treated differently solely because of their ticket-selling power. Their statements and circumstances were materially different. But seeing these two episodes unfold at the same stadium, only weeks apart, makes one live-industry reality unusually visible:
The bigger an artist becomes, the more bargaining power they may have over the space they perform in. Gillette Stadium still owns the building, but on a Saturday night in September, Zach Bryan brought 73,538 reasons why ownership isn’t the only kind of power inside it.
+Read more: "Making the Case for Political Activism at Concerts"
