Guitar Center is still running a contest that gives unknown artists the chance to open for Ed Sheeran in Mexico City on October 7, even as the tour around that show continues to unravel. The contest launched on August 19, before any of the current controversy, and it remains open for entries. The fallout started when Macklemore was dropped as the tour opener following a pro-Palestine speech at Gillette Stadium. Since then, every support act and Sheeran’s backing band have pulled out in support of Macklemore.
The online reaction has been intense. Sheeran has lost more than 200,000 Instagram followers, while Macklemore has gained over 1.6 million. Macklemore also donated $1 million in tour earnings to Palestinians, an amount matched by $2 million from Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft. Sheeran has said he is“not complicit”and described the conflict as a tragedy, but he has yet to directly address the departures or the criticism from figures like Roger Waters and Massive Attack.
So the contest sits in a strange spot: a genuine career-making opportunity wrapped up in a heated cultural moment. For an unsigned artist, it could be the biggest break of their life, or a spotlight they never asked for. Would you still enter if you were them? Let us know.
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.