Macklemore kicked off his Free Palestine Tour on Monday night in Dublin, weeks after he was removed from Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour after sharing his  free Palestine  message during his opening set.

The sold-out event served as a benefit concert, with organizers deciding not to unveil the lineup ahead of time. Monday's concert featured Hozier, Kneecap, Palestinian-American DJ and producer DJ Habibeats, Palestinian singer-songwriter Lina Makoul and rapper M1 of Dead Prez on the lineup at Dublin's 3Arena.

Boega, the backing band that dropped out of Sheeran's tour in solidarity with Macklemore, also was on the bill.

It marked the first of three sold-out shows, with the concert series continuing at Paris' Accor Arena on Oct. 29 followed by a performance at London's OVO Arena Wembley on Oct. 30.

Irish actor Liam Cunningham, activist and psychotherapist Nadia Greenspan and artist, activist and organizer Samir Eskanda were special guests speakers on Monday night in Dublin.

 Enjoying tonight does not mean forgetting about the suffering in Gaza,  Cunningham said onstage, according to published reports.  It means celebrating the humanity and life that Palestinians have fought so hard to protect. 

All proceeds from the concerts will benefit organizations supporting Palestine and the Palestinian movement.

 Together, these organizations represent a broad range of work supporting Palestinian people providing essential medical supplies, food and humanitarian assistance to advancing education, community support, advocacy and the imperative need for policy change among complicit countries around the world,  a press release read.  At the heart of the concert series are the Palestinian families, children, healthcare workers, students, artists and communities whose lives and futures continue to be profoundly impacted by the ongoing genocide in Gaza. 

Macklemore was dropped from Sheeran's tour last month after drawing headlines for his pro-Palestine speeches during his opening performances on the trek, with Sheeran's promoter stating that venues set to host the tour threatened to pull out if Macklemore wa
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