Macklemore Kicks Off Free Palestine Tour in Dublin With Hozier & Kneecap

Dublin lit up on Monday night with something that felt bigger than a concert — it felt like a statement. Macklemore's long-anticipated Free Palestine Tour finally touched down, turning the Irish capital into ground zero for one of music's most charged moments of 2024.

A Night Built on Solidarity

Over a month after being removed as an opener from Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour for making pro-Palestinian statements onstage — an incident that sent shockwaves through the industry, as covered in depth when Macklemore's pro-Palestine stadium remarks sparked full-blown music world controversy — the Seattle rapper didn't retreat. He regrouped and rebuilt, launching a full charity tour with a lineup that was kept deliberately secret until show night.

The result? A stacked bill that featured Irish folk band Beoga (yes, Ed Sheeran's own former backing band, who quit the Loop Tour in solidarity with Macklemore), the incendiary Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap, and none other than Hozier, who used his moment onstage to honor Ireland's long tradition of, in his words, standing for global solidarity around emancipation and justice. Palestinian singer-songwriter Lina Makoul opened the night, with rapper M-1 of Dead Prez and Palestinian-American DJ Habibeats also on the bill.

More Than Music

Macklemore designed the evening to be as much forum as festival. Irish actor Liam Cunningham delivered the night's opening remarks, drawing a line between the joy in the room and the suffering still unfolding in Gaza — framing the celebration not as forgetting, but as honoring the humanity Palestinians have fought to protect. Psychotherapist and activist Nadia Greenspan and organizer Samir Eskanda also addressed the crowd.

For those who couldn't make it to Dublin, the night reached further still. A reel of video messages from celebrities including Mark Ruffalo, Julian Casablancas, Cynthia Nixon, Ilana Glazer, and Natasha Rothwell played for the audience, according to Rolling Stone.

Beoga's moment onstage carried its own emotional weight. "The times are changing, we've never been prouder to be from the country we're from," the band told the crowd — a sentiment that landed especially hard given the journey that brought them there. Their decision to walk off Sheeran's tour was part of a broader wave of artist solidarity that followed Macklemore's tour removal, which sparked major backlash over censorship.

Kneecap's Defiant Energy

Kneecap, no strangers to controversy themselves after the livestream of their Coachella set — which featured pro-Palestinian projections — was abruptly cut without explanation, brought their trademark fearlessness to Dublin. Their message has been consistent throughout: "They can never silence the truth."

The trio's presence underscored the tour's central thesis. Macklemore made that thesis explicit when he announced the run back in September, saying he'd spent weeks reaching out specifically to artists who had used their platforms regardless of personal risk. The implication was clear — this wasn't a tour for the comfortable or the cautious.

What This Tour Means

The Free Palestine Tour is structured as a charity venture, with proceeds going toward Palestinian causes — a commitment Macklemore has backed with more than just words. His activism has extended well beyond the stage, and the Dublin kickoff underlines that this artist is fully invested in the long game. The tour's opening night felt like the culmination of weeks of pressure, pushback, and solidarity from across the music world, from fellow artists to fans who rallied after Macklemore pledged $1M to Palestinian groups and dared Kraft to match.

Dublin was just the beginning. With a lineup philosophy built on surprise and a cause that isn't fading from headlines, every date on this run will be one to watch.