Zach Bryan wears ‘Free Palestine’ shirt at Gillette Stadium concert, weeks after Ed Sheeran tour uproar

Zach Bryan on Sept. 10 in Nashville.Jason Kempin / GettyShareAdd NBC News to GoogleOct. 3, 2026, 1:12 PM EDTBy Matt LavietesCountry singer Zach Bryan wore a “Free Palestine” T-shirt during his concert at Gillette Stadium near Boston on Friday night, weeks after stadium’s owner Robert Kraft was accused of pressuring Ed Sheeran to drop his opening act over pro-Palestinian remarks.

Videos across social media showed Bryan, 30, wearing a black cutoff T-shirt with “Free Palestine” in white letters during his tour stop at the stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Kraft, who owns the New England Patriots, is a staunch supporter of Israel.

Last month, rapper Macklemore said he was removed from Sheeran’s tour at Kraft’s behest after he spoke out in support of Palestinians at the tour’s shows in New Jersey.

Kraft did not immediately return a request for comment. He has said he did not want to stifle support for Palestinians but to ensure a “welcoming environment” at Gillette Stadium for Sheeran’s tour.

Sheeran’s other opening acts — Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, Finneas and his house band, Beoga — withdrew from the tour in protest after Macklemore’s removal.

Sheeran apologized for how he handled the matter in his first show since news broke of Macklemore’s removal.

“I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician,” Sheeran said, “but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.”

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow Trump’s strikes against Houthis foreshadowed struggles in Iran warFOR SUBSCRIBERSWalmart’s quest for market share expands with a new bohemian fashion brandFOR SUBSCRIBERS‘It’s not enough to not rape somebody’: How parents are talking to kids about Cornell allegationsFOR SUBSCRIBERSLove is a casualty of war: How Russia’s invasion is killing Ukraine’s birthrateFOR SUBSCRIBERSHigh-profile special prosecutor takes over Cornell investigationFOR SUBSCRIBERSMore than 10,000 ICE officers to receive additional training to reduce violent encountersFOR SUBSCRIBERSKremlin critic and chess champion Garry Kasparov said FBI warned his life was in dangerFOR SUBSCRIBERSTom Cruise takes on a new mission: Selling ‘Digger’FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘I am Jane Doe’: Cornell case spurs women to share their experiences of sexual assault on campusFOR SUBSCRIBERSA sluggish Congress punts a long list of tasks until after the electionFOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Some of the medication has worn off’: Witness recalls failed Tennessee execution of Christa PikeFOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Couldn’t let all of them die’: Hero Indian pilot attacked midair speaks for first time FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow Trump’s homelessness crackdown became a sweeping retreat from disability rightsFOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlightFOR SUBSCRIBERSJudge guts noncitizen voting law used in Trump administration’s election pushLast week, Macklemore announced a Free Palestine Tour for this fall. Gillette Stadium will not be one of its stops.

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow Trump’s strikes against Houthis foreshadowed struggles in Iran warFOR SUBSCRIBERSWalmart’s quest for market share expands with a new bohemian fashion brandFOR SUBSCRIBERS‘It’s not enough to not rape somebody’: How parents are talking to kids about Cornell allegationsFOR SUBSCRIBERSLove is a casualty of war: How Russia’s invasion is killing Ukraine’s birthrateFOR SUBSCRIBERSHigh-profile special prosecutor takes over Cornell investigationFOR SUBSCRIBERSMore than 10,000 ICE officers to receive additional training to reduce violent encountersFOR SUBSCRIBERSKremlin critic and chess champion Garry Kasparov said FBI warned his life was in dangerFOR SUBSCRIBERSTom Cruise takes on a new mission: Selling ‘Digger’FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘I am Jane Doe’: Cornell case spurs women to share their experiences of sexual assault on campusFOR SUBSCRIBERSA sluggish Congress punts a long list of tasks until after the electionFOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Some of the medication has worn off’: Witness recalls failed Tennessee execution of Christa PikeFOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Couldn’t let all of them die’: Hero Indian pilot attacked midair speaks for first time FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow Trump’s homelessness crackdown became a sweeping retreat from disability rightsFOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlightFOR SUBSCRIBERSJudge guts noncitizen voting law used in Trump administration’s election pushThe Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a flashpoint in pop culture for decades.

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 70,000 people there, according to local health authorities. It followed the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, in which more than 1,200 people were killed.

Differences over the war have permeated everything from local political contests to the Costume Institute exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Bryan is best known for his songs “Something in the Orange,” “I Remember Everything” featuring Kacey Musgraves and “Pink Skies.” The Grammy-winning artist served in the U.S. Navy for several years while continuing to write and record music.

Matt LavietesI’m a reporter on NBC News’ breaking news team, covering crime, extreme weather, pop culture and more. I recently covered Hurricane Milton, which devastated the Tampa, Florida, metropolitan area, and the student-led protests at Columbia University.