Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour hit another snag at Gillette Stadium, and this one had nothing to do with the earlier Macklemore controversy. Robert Kraft’s venue had already spent weeks dealing with fallout from the opening-lineup shakeup, but this time the problem was weather: a nor’easter bearing down on New England.
By Friday, the decision was made to cancel Sheeran’s Friday and Saturday night concerts at Gillette Stadium. Stadium crews had already paused stage construction on Thursday as officials monitored the storm, which forecasters said could bring serious wind and rain across the region. CBS Boston reported gusts up to 55 mph in Foxboro, along with as much as 2 inches of rain.
A representative for the tour said the cancellation came after close monitoring by stadium and tour management, along with public safety officials. “Due to the severe weather forecast throughout the weekend, the tour has made the difficult decision to cancel the Ed Sheeran concerts,” they told TMZ. “The decision was made with the safety of fans, staff and everyone involved in the shows as the top priority.”
Ticketmaster buyers will get automatic refunds, while everyone else can seek theirs through the original point of purchase. A planned protest from Massachusetts Peace Action, which had been organized around Saturday’s show, no longer applies now that the concert is off the calendar.
The cancellation lands in the middle of a messy stretch for the tour. Kraft had already been accused by Macklemore after the rapper was removed from the opening lineup. Macklemore made pro-Palestine comments onstage at MetLife Stadium before his exit, and Kraft later defended the move in writing, saying it was about keeping hate speech off his venue’s platform.
That dispute had already created problems beyond the stage. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said her office received nearly 200 complaints from fans who were having trouble getting refunds through Ticketmaster after Macklemore’s removal.
The backlash widened further when a Wall Street Journal report said three other NFL owners quietly supported Kraft’s decision to pull Macklemore from the show. Macklemore pledged $1 million toward Palestinian relief, and Kraft responded with a $2 million humanitarian donation of his own.
For now, Sheeran’s tour rolls on. After this weekend’s dates were wiped out, the schedule picks back up in Atlanta on October 3.
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