Ed Sheeran’s scheduled appearances at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, have been canceled. The concerts, originally slated for Friday, Sept. 25, and Saturday, Sept. 26, as part of the singer’s Loop Tour, were scrapped in response to a threatening nor’easter forecast to impact the East Coast.
Messina Touring Group, the tour promoter, announced the decision on Friday morning. The statement noted that the move was made following consultations with local officials, citing severe weather warnings issued for Boston and the broader New England region throughout the weekend. Organizers stated that the safety of fans, staff, and personnel remained the primary reason for the cancellation. Contributing: Rin Velasco, Wicked Local.
Regarding ticketing, the promoter confirmed that refunds are available at the point of purchase. Ticketmaster customers will receive automatic refunds for the affected dates. This resolution follows intervention by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, whose office had received over 170 consumer complaints from attendees frustrated by refund policies in the days leading up to the shows. Following the office’s inquiry, Ticketmaster confirmed that event organizers would permit refunds for those no longer wishing to attend following significant lineup changes. According to the promoter, Refunds are available at the point of purchase, and ticket holders who purchased through Ticketmaster will be “automatically refunded. My office jumped into action to demand that consumers be provided a clear path to get their money back if they no longer want to attend due to significant changes to the lineup,” the attorney general said, according to a press release. “In response to the AGO’s, after hearing from nearly 200 consumers who were struggling to obtain refunds from Ticketmaster for Ed Sheeran’s shows at Gillette Stadium this weekend.
The stadium, owned by Robert Kraft, had recently been the focal point of a controversy involving opening act Macklemore. After the rapper made comments concerning Palestine during a performance at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on Sept. 4, he was removed from all subsequent U.S. tour dates. Macklemore stated that Sheeran informed him Kraft had opposed his performances at Gillette Stadium and had successfully rallied other venue owners to the same position.
Messina Touring Group initially stated that multiple venues refused to allow the tour to proceed with Macklemore on the bill. Kraft later confirmed that the rapper would not be permitted at his stadium, citing material from his recent performances and characterizing it as a history of antisemitic rhetoric. While Sheeran stated it was not his personal decision to drop the rapper, he noted that the refusal of venues to host the concert lineup threatened the entire tour’s viability. Since Macklemore’s removal, all other opening acts associated with the tour have also withdrawn.
