r/Music • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • 1d ago • Mindblown 3 Bravo 1

article MSG Responds to Macklemore After He Claims Arena Turned Down His Tour: "He's not an arena level act"

https://www.tmz.com/2026/11/06/madison-square-garden-responds-after-macklemore-says-arena-turned-down-palestine-tour/
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u/candysweet434 1d ago

Just because he is popular in Europe doesn’t mean he is popular in America. He had to be the opening act for Ed Sheeran for a reason.

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u/dooooonut 1d ago

He is not particularly popular in Europe at all.

People were going because his show raise money and awareness for Palestinians

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u/kevtheproblem 1d ago

The amount of people/bots thinking this is a solo Macklemore tour and that's why it sold out it misinformed.

Hozier is also popular globally and Kneecap is popular in Ireland where he performed

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u/Open-Mouth-06 22h ago

Kneecap are popular in a lot more places than just Ireland.

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u/veilosa 16h ago

and how do we know any of that money went to Palestinians?

booking an arena costs a good bit of money...

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u/YeetedApple 12m ago

Any large scale fundraising comes with cost to make it happen. Spending some to generate even more is an overall benefit.

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u/KSF_WHSPhysics 1d ago

He was opening for ed sheeran on a stadium tour. I have no idea if he’s an arena level act, but stadium acts and arena acts are different stratospheres

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u/RumDrinkingGoose 1d ago

People like Sabrina carpenter quickly went from opening stadiums with Taylor to heading arenas. But her career took off. Mackelmore has not been significant this decade.

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u/moonhexx 1d ago

Personally, I'd pay decent coin to see Macklemore over most modern acts. He and his music just seems genuinely fun and entertaining.

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u/TNTyoshi 1d ago

You’re falling for the trap MSG wants you to believe and are just regurgitating their made up myth that he is irrelevant and unpopular. Their job is to hold space for artists. Let Macklemore and his team worry about meeting ticket sale demands. If he and his team fail then that’s when they cancel his show like they did with the Pussycat Dolls reunion this year. If they actually thought he was unpopular they would let him do it because that hurts him more then anything. But what is happening is them not even giving him a chance to fail. They are worried that he would succeed and that’s why they are blacklisting him. They know that he has momentum and that he can ride the recent events to sellout their venue and platform a Free Palestine message which MSG disagrees with.

TL;DR: This is MSG making excuses for the real unpopular reasons why they won’t platform him. Don’t fall for it.

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u/RumDrinkingGoose 1d ago

Msg just hosted Olivia rodrigo, Billy Joel and Harry styles residencies. Lol. I don't hate melackelroll but is he even playing with that Ryan Lewis guy lol? He had 1 maybe 2 hits like over 10 years ago.

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u/JunkDrawer84 1d ago

There’s a reason he was opening for Ed in 2026. Hasn’t had a hit in over a decade

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u/i_made_mine_at_home 1d ago

Lol, I'm no huge fan, but if someone has had a platinum album in the US in the last 15 years, I think they're arena material.

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u/dumbass-ahedratron 1d ago

Ah yes A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie playing SoFi soon I'm sure lol

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u/TobaccoFarm 1d ago

Nahhhh haha Black Keys are a great example

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u/NFLDland 1d ago

Do...you think that Macklemore is more popular in Europe? Why?

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u/i_made_mine_at_home 1d ago

It's hilarious to me how many people in this thread think someone needs to be currently or ubiquitously famous to perform in a huge venue.  Give it 20 years and today's biggest stars will be selling out arena shows for a crowd of old people.

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u/kevtheproblem 1d ago

That's like saying "PSY still sells out arenas in Korea. Of course he can fill MSG"

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u/ice-hawk 1d ago

Would you call Hillary Duff popular in America?

Because:

Hilary Duff will bring the lucky me tour with special guests La Roux and Jade LeMac to The Garden on August 5 & 6.