Macklemore brought a slew of artists to the stage in Paris on Thursday night, the second stop on his Free Palestine Tour that launched following his removal from Ed Sheeran’s stadium run for onstage statements in support of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Throughout the night, Macklemore was joined by a full roster of artists who performed in support of Palestine including Aurora, DJ Habibeats, Pomme, Portugal The Man, Redvell, Siba, Tamer Nafar, Xiuhtezcati Martinez, and Zeyne. Among the performances, Aurora sang “The Seed,” a poignant track from her third studio album, A Different Kind of Human (Step 2).
“All the artists, all the speakers that have come together with one common goal, which is a free Palestine,” Macklemore declared as the sold-out crowd roared. “You cannot, you cannot erase a people’s history by ignoring it. We are in a moment right now. We are in a moment right now, a collective awakening, remembering who we are. We have been passed down trauma. We have been passed down borders that existed before we were born: hatred, fear, division, scarcity, lies we have inherited that block us from remembering our true heart.”
He pressed on: “I look at the news. I watch the stories. I look at the erasure. We’ve all seen, we’ve all seen a live-streamed genocide for the past three years in the palm of our hand. You cannot, you cannot dehumanize another human being without dehumanizing yourself.”
During the night, Macklemore also performed Rudimental’s “These Days,” which originally features British singers Jess Glynne and Dan Caplen, and the rapper. When delivering his massive hit, “Can’t Hold Us,” from his debut The Heist, Macklemore jumped the barricade separating the stage from the audience during the song’s bridge and was temporarily lifted into the air as green and red confetti, colors of the Palestinian flag, blanketed the sold-out crowd.
Alongside the performances, Macklemore also invited guest speakers Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, Carice van Houten, and Francesca Albanese to the stage. Albanese, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza who has been appointed to monitor and document the human rights situation in the region, delivered a passionate appeal to those watching. “Palestinian steadfastness” has awakened millions to “the horror of the world we inherited, and the possibility to change this world,” said Albanese. “To those who shield the powerful and threaten those who refuse silence, I have three words for you: work with us, not against us, and do that for you and for your children,” she continued. “Let’s dance together, beautifully diverse in language, in faith, in gender, in love, in history. Let’s think together, move together, act together, dance together, dream together. Let’s turn awakening into organization, outreach into solidarity, and solidarity into action.”
On Monday, Macklmore kicked off the Free Palestine Tour in Dublin with special guest appearances from Hozier, Kneecap, and Boega, the backing band that dropped out of Sheeran’s tour in solidarity with Macklemore.
The Seattle rapper is set to conclude the charity concert series in London on Friday. Proceeds from the shows will benefit a collection of organizations supporting the Palestinian movement, including Medical Aid for Palestinians, Palestinian Youth Movement, Heal Palestine, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Jewish Voices for Peace, and the UNRWA USA National Committee.
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