Zach Bryan wore a "Free Palestine" T-shirt onstage at Robert Kraft's Gillette Stadium during his October 2 concert — and wore it again the next night, when the second show set the stadium's all-time attendance record at 73,538 — turning the country star's sold-out run into a pointed statement just weeks after Macklemore was removed from Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour over his own pro-Palestinian remarks.
Bryan, 30, took the stage in Foxborough, Massachusetts, in a black T-shirt with the sleeves ripped off, emblazoned with white 3D lettering reading "FREE PALESTINE" above a pine tree and the phrase "An Appeal to Heaven" — Revolutionary-era American imagery. He was not alone: bandmates Nate Head and Noah LeGros wore Palestine soccer jerseys from Wear the Peace, with Head's jersey bearing the name "Hind Rajab," the 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza City in January 2024. The concerts were part of the closing leg of Bryan's "With Heaven On Tour."
The statement landed with unmistakable timing. On September 4 and 5, Macklemore delivered a "Free Palestine" speech while opening for Ed Sheeran at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey — and was subsequently removed from the U.S. leg of Sheeran's Loop Tour. Macklemore revealed on September 14 that Sheeran had told him Kraft, the New England Patriots owner whose Kraft Group owns Gillette Stadium, had rallied other stadium owners with an ultimatum: if Macklemore stayed on the tour, Sheeran would not be allowed to play their venues. Sheeran later confirmed the account, saying he had spoken with Kraft in an attempt to "build a bridge" but that "the venue's and promoter's decision was final." Kraft said Gillette does not "provide a platform for hate speech."
Bryan addressed the shirt the next morning. "I didn't put on a FREE PALESTINE shirt to please everybody," he wrote in a post quoted by The Hollywood Reporter. "I wore it because some things are bigger than music, fame, and public approval. You're free to disagree with me, but I'm not going to pretend I don't care just to keep everyone comfortable."
The reaction was immediate and polarized — a firestorm of praise from supporters and condemnation from critics, unfolding in the very building whose owner had led the charge against Macklemore. For the Navy veteran turned Grammy-winning country star, the two nights in Foxborough became the most politically charged concerts of his career — and the latest stage of a dispute that has now consumed Sheeran's tour, Kraft's stadium and the broader question of what artists are allowed to say on someone else's stage.