Country music artist Zach Bryan waded into the Macklemore controversy on Friday night by wearing a “Free Palestine” shirt during his show at Robert Kraft’s Gillette Stadium.
The shirt also included an image of a pine tree and the phrase, “Appeal to Heaven,” which are both references to an American Revolutionary campaign connected to George Washington’s command of the Continental Army.
Bryan’s guitarist Noah Le Gros made a similar statement by wearing a green Palestinian soccer jersey while performing onstage.
Tonight at Gillette Stadium, Zach Bryan, one of the biggest country music artists in the world, wore a Free Palestine shirt onstage.
Gillette Stadium is owned by Robert Kraft, who pushed Ed Sheeran and his promoter to drop Macklemore from his tour.
Bryan isn’t just a major… pic.twitter.com/qthBfWOBbi
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 3, 2026
Bryan reportedly did not address the shirt or comment further onstage. He will perform again at Gillette Stadium Saturday night as part of his With Heaven On Tour concert series, which concludes next weekend in Alabama.
The singer’s political statement comes just one week after the Ed Sheeran/Macklemore spat. Macklemore was dropped by Messina Touring Group from the remainder of Sheeran’s The Loop tour following anti-Israel rants he delivered on stage while performing as the opening act. Macklemore responded by blaming New England Patriots owner Kraft, who is Jewish, for orchestrating his cancelation.
Macklemore alleged that Kraft, whose company owns Gillette Stadium, refused to let him perform during Sheeran’s upcoming shows at the Massachusetts venue and “rallied” other stadium owners to take the same position, as The Daily Wire previously reported.
“We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group,” Macklemore wrote. “Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”
Messina Touring Group, which is promoting the tour, confirmed that multiple venues had said they would “not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup.” The company said Macklemore was dropped following “discussions with stakeholders.”
Macklemore responded to the controversy by blasting Sheeran for not taking sides, and proceeded to launch a Free Palestine charity concert.
This isn’t Bryan’s first foray into political commentary. The singer faced serious backlash last year when he released the anti-ICE song, “Bad News.”
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