Photo Credit: Gillette Stadium by Eric Salard / CC by 2.0
Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour faces more setbacks with the cancelation of his planned shows at Robert Kraft’s Gillette Stadium “due to severe weather.”
After the intense controversy surrounding Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour this month, the singer-songwriter will ultimately not be performing at billionaire Robert Kraft’s Gillette Stadium this weekend. The Friday and Saturday shows planned at the Massachusetts venue have been canceled “due to severe weather warnings” in the area, according to tour promoter Messina Touring.
“The decision was made with the safety of fans, staff, and everyone involved in the show as the top priority,” the statement explained, adding that refunds are available now at the point of purchase, and those who purchased tickets through Ticketmaster will be automatically refunded.
The touring group said that they made the “difficult decision” to cancel the performances after consulting local officials, with a powerful nor’easter expected to bring strong winds, coastal flooding, and heavy rain to significant parts of the East Coast over the weekend. Notably, this same inclement weather led in part to the cancelation of the first day of the three-day Oceans Calling festival in Maryland.
For Sheeran’s tour, it’s just the latest snag amid weeks of controversy. First, Sheeran and his touring team faced pressure to remove opening act Macklemore from the rest of the tour after the rapper drew criticism over his pro-Palestine message during his opening sets at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Only days later, Messina Touring announced that Macklemore had been dismissed from the remainder of the tour, while Sheeran denied having a role in that decision.
Then, the remaining supporting acts for Sheeran’s tour, including Billie Eilish’s brother and collaborator Finneas and Sheeran’s backing band Beoga, quit the tour in solidarity with Macklemore. Sheeran continued on with the tour solo over the weekend and is expected to next perform on October 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
