After Entire Opening Lineup Quits, Guitar Center Is Still Holding Contest for Unknown Act to Open for Ed Sheeran

The entry page is still live, seeking an "unsigned artist" for the chance to open Ed Sheeran's October 7 Mexico City show. The contest, run by instrument retailer Guitar Center, made perfect sense when it launched on August 19. The problem is, the tour no longer has an opening lineup.

Sheeran's ongoing "Loop" tour has seen its opening acts drop out one after another over the past few weeks. It started when Macklemore was pulled from opening for Sheeran at Gillette Stadium in New Jersey after making comments in support of Palestine. Stadium owner Robert Kraft confirmed he made the call to remove Macklemore, calling the remarks "deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community." Figures like Pink and the Israeli-American Council had also publicly called for Macklemore to be dropped.

After Macklemore was removed, FINNEAS, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe, and the band Beoga all spoke out in his support and subsequently pulled out of the tour's opening and backing lineup. Irish traditional folk group BIIRD also released a statement saying "we stand fully behind everything he said without reservation," while fellow Sheeran opener Myles Smith said "what Palestinians are going through is impossible to ignore."

Sheeran himself responded by saying he was "not complicit" and that he was "horrified" by the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling the suffering on both sides a "tragedy." Following the comments, he lost over 200,000 Instagram followers, while Macklemore gained more than 1.6 million. Pink Floyd's Roger Waters publicly called Sheeran a "little prick" and praised Macklemore for "doing the right thing," while the band Massive Attack said that "in the face of the slaughter of over 20,000 children, 'neutral' was never neutral." As of now, Sheeran has not responded to the openers' departures or these comments.

Meanwhile, Macklemore has donated his entire fee from the tour date — $1 million — to Palestine, while Kraft has separately donated $2 million "for aid in the region."

Against this backdrop, Guitar Center's contest remains posted on its website, waiting for an unsigned act to sign up for a shot at an opening slot that currently has no other opening acts to share the bill with.