Ed Sheeran is due to resume his US tour later today at the stadium that sparked all the recent controversies in the Boston suburb of Foxborough. Although there was speculation yesterday that the show might not go ahead because of stormy weather. 

Which may or may not be divine intervention in the ongoing controversy. Or, if you are a tinfoil hat wearing Marjorie Taylor Greene fan, possibly the result of weather control by shadowy lizard-people who have taken an interest in the Sheeran tour saga for some reason. 

If the show does go ahead, ticket buyers can choose not to attend and get a refund, seemingly thanks to Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, who demanded refunds be offered to ticket buyers because Sheeran downsized his current shows after all his support acts pulled out. 

New England is expecting wind gusts of up to 70mph this weekend in what is dubbed a ‘nor’easter storm’. According to TMZ, the inclement weather has already delayed production work setting up Sheeran’s show, with sources revealing that “stage construction has been paused because of a massive nor’easter storm”. 

TMZ’s report adds that “the stage was partially assembled on Thursday morning” at Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium, but “by Thursday evening we’re told the crew was told to pause construction, while higher ups decided whether to begin tearing it down”. 

The storm forecast for later today is expected to result in strong winds and several inches of rain, which won’t be pleasant for people attending the open-air show, and might also cause safety concerns. 

It will be an interesting turn of events if the weather, rather than the presence of Macklemore, forces Sheeran’s Gillette Stadium shows to be cancelled. 

This is the stadium owned by billionaire Robert Kraft who objected to Macklemore’s on-stage support for Palestine and said he’d cancel Sheeran’s shows if the rapper was still involved as a support act, and also persuaded other US stadium owners to make the same threat. 

When Sheeran’s promoter axed Macklemore from the shows to placate Kraft, all of the other support acts booked to play, as well as Sheeran’s own backing band, pulled out in solidarity with the rapper. 

That forced Sheeran to rejig his next concert, which took place in Philadelphia last weekend, so that the show started later with no support acts. He was already playing most of his own set solo, but he did manage to recruit a replacement band for the section where he needed other musicians. 

The same format is seemingly planned for the two shows Sheeran will play at the Gillette Stadium this weekend. Given the change in line-up and shorter run time, some argued that Sheeran and his promoter Messina Touring Group should rescind the usual no refunds policy for ticket holders, a position backed by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. 

She said in a statement yesterday, “After hearing from nearly 200 consumers who were struggling to obtain refunds from Ticketmaster for Ed Sheeran’s shows at Gillette Stadium this weekend, 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 line-up”. 

Campbell’s office told Ticketmaster that “in this case, changing nearly all of the acts and performers at the same time constitutes such a dramatic change in the service that Ticketmaster’s reliance on the purchase policy appears unfair”. Refunds are now available, though ticket buyers should get in touch with Ticketmaster at least 24 hours before show time. 

Of course, it seems likely that most ticket-buyers were motivated to buy tickets to these concerts simply because they wanted to see Sheeran play, with the support acts seen as secondary. However, the lack of support acts does change the wider experience of the show and the fact refunds are now available might be useful for  other reasons. 

Some people might want to cancel their tickets in protest over the axing of Macklemore. Some because they’ve seen the weather forecast. And some because they’re now planning on spending their weekend constructing conspiracy theories about the timing of the nor’easter storm and who exactly is controlling the weather in New England right now. 

While the controversies and speculation continue around Sheeran’s shows, Macklemore has moved on from the whole sorry saga and announced a series of Free Palestine shows taking place in Dublin, London and Paris next month, raising funds for organisations supporting the Palestinian people. 

In an Instagram post, he wrote, “Being apolitical during a genocide doesn’t work anymore. People are asking artists to show up, educate themselves and be in community. To use the stage for more than entertainment. To push back when the call for a Free Palestine is met with attempts to silence it”.

Noting that, “as you all know, my schedule freed up a bit”, he went on, “I’ve spent the last week reaching out to artists who have shown up and used their stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, regardless of the consequences. Artists who understand that our platforms mean very little if we’re only willing to use them when it’s safe”. 

And some of those artists are now set to join Macklemore at the three European shows. 

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