Macklemore opened his Free Palestine Tour with a sold-out concert at Dublin's 3Arena on Monday, October 26, joined by Hozier, Kneecap and other guests. The benefit combined live performances, speeches and recorded messages to raise money for organizations supporting Palestinians. Paris and London are the next stops in the three-date European series, which grew out of the rapper's removal from another tour.
Macklemore brought musicians from Ireland, Palestine and the United States together at Dublin's 3Arena on October 26 for the opening Free Palestine Tour concert. The sold-out event ran for several hours, pairing performances with speeches about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Hozier, Kneecap, Beoga and Lina Makoul were among those taking part in the evening's live program.
The concert began with music and interventions before the American rapper's own set. Irish actor Liam Cunningham addressed the audience, while Palestinian singer Lina Makoul performed without instrumental accompaniment. A recorded appearance by a children's choir from Gaza also formed part of the program. The format made the occasion a shared benefit event rather than a conventional solo headline show.
Hozier performed songs from his catalog, including Too Sweet, and used his appearance to raise the situation of 55 Palestinian students from Gaza. He said they had secured scholarships at Irish universities but were still waiting for approval of their visa applications. His intervention connected the concert with a specific campaign he and other artists had already supported publicly.
He called on the Irish government to resolve the issue and encouraged the audience to back an open letter. A QR code displayed behind him directed those wishing to sign to the initiative. The request was part of his contribution to the event, alongside the songs, rather than an announcement that the students' applications had already been approved.
Kneecap followed with a forceful hip-hop set, opening with H.O.O.D. and performing material including FENIAN, Liars Tale, Big Bad Mo and No Comment. A mosh pit formed in the arena as the audience joined in. The Belfast group combined its music with the political commentary and satirical style that regularly feature in its live appearances.
The group also offered a sarcastic thank-you to Ed Sheeran for the circumstances that had led to the Dublin concert. That remark referred to the earlier removal of Macklemore from Sheeran's American tour. It was a joke about the dispute and its consequences, rather than a literal statement that Sheeran had organized the benefit at the 3Arena.
Irish folk group Beoga also appeared after leaving Sheeran's tour in September in support of the rapper. Eamon Murray spoke about the band's involvement in initiatives by Irish artists supporting Palestinians. M1 of Dead Prez and DJ Habibeats added further hip-hop contributions, while Nadia Greenspan and artist and organizer Samir Eskanda participated through speeches during the event.
Not every guest was physically present in Dublin. Mark Ruffalo, Julian Casablancas, Cynthia Nixon, Ilana Glazer and Natasha Rothwell appeared in recorded messages shown between live performances and speeches. Their contributions should be distinguished from stage appearances: they were part of the program through the screen, rather than performers who joined the musicians in the arena that night.
Macklemore took the stage after 10 p.m. His set included White Walls, Same Love and Hind's Hall, with Can't Hold Us bringing the concert to a close. Water pistols were used during White Walls, retaining a playful element familiar from his shows. Toward the end, he wore a shirt from Dublin football club Bohemians to a warm response.
Between songs, the rapper reflected on the preceding six weeks and how the benefit series came together. He said he had completed only two appearances on Sheeran's American tour before being removed from the remaining dates. He described turning that setback into the new concerts and spoke about why opening the series in Ireland felt especially fitting to him.
The dispute followed his public support for Palestinians during appearances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in September. Ed Sheeran said the decision to remove Macklemore from the remaining American dates was made by the promoter rather than by him personally. Other artists subsequently withdrew from the program, making that earlier tour central to the background of the Dublin benefit.
Onstage, Macklemore thanked Hozier and Kneecap, saying they had responded immediately when he approached them about the concert. He also praised the Irish audience's engagement with the Palestinian cause. These remarks were his political views within an event explicitly announced as a benefit, alongside performances that moved between his established hits and songs associated with his public advocacy.
Organizers said proceeds from the concert series would support groups providing humanitarian assistance, medical care, education and other services for Palestinians. The announced beneficiaries include Anera, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Palestine Children's Relief Fund, Jewish Voice for Peace and UNRWA USA. Information points were also present at the arena. A final fundraising total for the Dublin show has not been confirmed.
The series continues at Paris's Accor Arena on Thursday, October 29, then London's OVO Arena Wembley on Friday, October 30. All three events were announced as sold out. Hozier and Kneecap were confirmed for Dublin, which does not establish their participation in the other cities. Macklemore now takes the benefit series onward with different concert programs and the same stated fundraising purpose.
