On the same day (September 14) that Macklemore was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s now-embattled Loop Tour, a contest was launched inviting hopefuls to open for the British superstar.
Guitar Center organized the competition as part of its new “Open for Legends” initiative, and the winner will get to support Sheeran in Mexico City on December 11.
According to submission guidelines, competitors must be at least 18 years old, hold a valid U.S. passport, have experience performing live, and submit original music. Bands hoping to submit are limited to a maximum of five members, and auditions must not exceed five minutes. The submission deadline is October 7.
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However, according to Entertainment Weekly, up till yesterday (September 16), the website has been flooded with memes and non-musical content in support of Palestine, with just a handful of genuine videos. At the time of writing, Guitar Center appears to have removed these videos from its site.
Macklemore was forcibly removed from Sheeran’s tour after voicing support for Palestine at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on September 4 and 5. According to Sheeran, the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium owner, billionaire Robert Kraft, pushed the other stadium owners to advocate for his removal.
Messina Touring Group, the promoter responsible for Sheeran’s US dates, confirmed his removal in a statement to Rolling Stone.
“As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s US Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming US tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”
Shortly afterwards Sheeran’s own backing band, Beoga, as well as his other support acts, including FINNEAS, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe, announced they had withdrawn from the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.
Kraft is now claiming Sheeran asked him to match a $2 million donation for “aid in the region.” His statement came after Macklemore publicly stated that he will be donating the entire $1 million of his net earnings from the Sheeran tour to organizations “working directly to support Palestinian people,” and urged Kraft to match him.
Kraft hasn’t publicly confirmed whether he has agreed to the donation. Artists including Roger Waters and Billy Bragg have since called for Sheeran to scrap the tour.
Guitar World has reached out to Guitar Center for comment.
