Macklemore names US arenas that refused his solidarity concerts

Macklemore names US arenas that refused his solidarity concerts Macklemore says nine major US arenas have refused to host his fundraising tour. The rapper, 43, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, made the claim in a seven-slide Instagram post on Friday, naming venues like Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, UBS Arena and Prudential Center in the New York area.

He also named Crypto.com Arena, Intuit Dome and Kia Forum in Los Angeles, Chase Center in San Francisco and Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. He said he had received available dates by mid-September. But once the venues learned the shows were fundraisers for his cause, he said, those dates “were suddenly off the table.” He called it “intimidation, manipulation and suppression.” The tour began in Europe last month, with sold-out shows in Dublin, London and Paris.

Guests included Hozier and Kneecap. The shows followed Macklemore’s exit from Ed Sheeran’s US tour in September. He was dropped after making a short onstage speech about the conflict in a region deemed genocide-stricken.

At the time, Sheeran said US venues warned him they would refuse to host the tour if Macklemore stayed on. Sheeran’s four other opening acts and his live band then quit the tour in solidarity with the rapper. Meanwhile, Macklemore says his commitment to raising funds has not changed and he plans more benefit shows.