Macklemore is answering his removal from Ed Sheeran's tour with his own Free Palestine shows, a win for artists who have felt pressure to stay quiet about Gaza.

• Macklemore announced a "Macklemore and Friends" Free Palestine tour hitting Dublin, Paris, and London in October, with US dates possible later.
• He was cut from Sheeran's tour after saying "free Palestine," with Patriots owner Robert Kraft pushing for it and other NFL stadium owners lining up behind him.
• Sheeran's tour has struggled since, losing most of its supporting acts, and he read a statement calling Gaza catastrophic and unjustifiable while warning that venues should not preapprove what performers say.
• Sheeran's apology is landing as too late and too scripted for many critics, since it came only after weeks of backlash and stopped short of calling the war a genocide.
• Separately, $2.8 billion in bombs was sent to Israel without congressional approval while Congress is in recess.

Outlook: Expect more artists to sign on to Macklemore's shows, and more fights over who controls what performers can say on stadium stages.