Country music star Zach Bryan wore a “Free Palestine” T-shirt during a concert Friday in Foxborough, Massachusetts, at Gillette Stadium, a venue owned by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. The appearance follows a September controversy in which Kraft reportedly pressured singer Ed Sheeran to drop supporting act Macklemore over pro-Palestinian remarks the rapper made during a New Jersey concert. Macklemore was subsequently removed from Sheeran’s U.S. tour, prompting several other supporting acts to withdraw in solidarity.
Bryan’s choice of attire at his Friday concert is expected to be viewed as a direct challenge to Kraft, who previously described Macklemore’s remarks as “deeply offensive” and acknowledged pressing Sheeran to drop the artist. Newsweek contacted Bryan and Kraft, via the New England Patriot press office, for comment on Saturday outside of regular office hours. Bryan, a Grammy Award-winning singer and U.S.
Navy veteran, kicked off a two-night engagement at Gillette Stadium on Friday as part of his tour, wearing a black T-shirt bearing the slogan “FREE PALESTINE.” Below the text was a pine tree graphic alongside the phrase “AN APPEAL TO HEAVEN,” a reference to a historical flag used by early American warships during the Revolutionary War. Noah Le Gros, Bryan’s guitarist, also wore a green Palestinian soccer jersey during the performance and later posted a photograph of himself wearing the shirt in front of a Kraft Sports and Entertainment sign on social media. Neither Bryan nor members of his band made verbal statements regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict during the concert.
In the past, Bryan has emphasized that he does not identify strongly with either political party, describing himself as a "total libertarian," and has stressed that his political views are shaped more by his life experiences than partisan loyalty. On September 4, Macklemore delivered a short speech concerning Palestinian rights and chanted “Free Palestine” while performing his song “Hind’s Hall” at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where he was supporting Sheeran. During a subsequent performance the following day, he stated that criticism of Israel should not be conflated with attacks on Jewish people.
In response, the Israeli-American Council launched a petition demanding Macklemore be removed from Sheeran’s tour. Days later, on September 14, the rapper said he had been dropped following discussions with Sheeran. In a later statement, Macklemore said Kraft played a key role in this, commenting: “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.” Kraft said he had banned Macklemore from performing at Gillette Stadium with Sheeran on September 25 and 26 based on his “recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran's shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.” The billionaire also stressed that the decision was not intended to diminish Palestinian suffering or deny anyone the ability to advocate for Palestinians.
On September 15, Sheeran released a statement saying the decision to drop Macklemore from the tour wasn't his and that he tried to broker a solution. The following day, Macklemore announced he was making a $1 million donation to Palestinian aid groups and challenged Kraft to match the contribution. Kraft later revealed that Sheeran had already requested a $2 million commitment toward humanitarian assistance in the region and said he agreed to participate.
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