Ed Sheeran's 'Galway Girl' Collaborators Beoga Quit His Tour After Macklemore's Removal

The Irish band Beoga say their friendship with Ed Sheeran will continue, but they are withdrawing from the remaining US dates of Sheeran's tour in solidarity with Macklemore.

Best known for bringing Irish traditional music into Sheeran's hit 'Galway Girl,' Beoga announced on 15 September that they are leaving his US tour, saying they cannot perform at venues they believe have silenced Macklemore's support for Palestine.

'We have been friends with Ed for over 10 years now and will continue to be,' they said in their statement.

Their departure takes the dispute into Sheeran's own performing line-up, alongside withdrawals by other artists booked for the tour.

A Collaboration That Reached Beyond the Tour

Beoga's connection to Sheeran is embedded in his recorded music. The band collaborated on both 'Galway Girl' and 'Nancy Mulligan' for his album ÷, bringing their traditional Irish sound to an international pop audience.

Their official biography lists more than 1.4 billion Spotify streams for 'Galway Girl' alone. It describes those collaborations as evidence of how far Irish traditional music could travel.

In their withdrawal statement, Beoga acknowledged the scale of the opportunity they were giving up. Playing stadiums of that size had once seemed beyond anything they expected.

They also identified themselves as founding members of Irish Artists for Palestine and linked their position to Ireland's experience of colonialism. The statement framed their departure as a matter of solidarity while expressing continued belief in dialogue.

Sheeran Says the Promoter Made the Decision

Macklemore had announced his removal a day earlier, following performances at Sheeran's New Jersey shows where he voiced support for Palestine.

In his account of the dispute, the rapper said Sheeran told him that stadium owners had threatened to refuse the concerts if he remained on the bill. He named Robert Kraft, whose company owns Gillette Stadium, as central to that pressure.

Macklemore argued that criticism of Israel should not be equated with hostility towards Jewish people. He also said he hoped the disagreement would not end his friendship with Sheeran.

Sheeran subsequently said he had tried to broker a resolution through discussions with venues, promoters and activists.

'Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter's decision, it was not mine,' he wrote in his response.

He said the rapper's contract was with the promoter and that venues had threatened to pull shows. Sheeran also defended keeping his professional platform outside politics, citing his young audience and his responsibility to fans and touring workers.

Other Artists Follow With Their Own Withdrawals

The departures extend beyond Beoga. Finneas announced that he would withdraw from his upcoming dates with Sheeran, expressing support for Palestinians and opposing the silencing of artists who speak for oppressed people.

Irish singer Aaron Rowe also said he was leaving. He credited Sheeran with changing his life but said continuing would conflict with his convictions, invoking Ireland's history of famine and occupation.

Lukas Graham described withdrawing as a difficult decision and expressed gratitude to Sheeran. Their statement challenged the influence of wealth over who gets heard: 'Nobody's bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we're allowed to acknowledge.'