In the early morning hours of Sunday, Gillette Stadium posted on X/Twitter: “Tonight, Zach Bryan broke the Gillette Stadium attendance record with 73,538 fans!”
Bryan hasn’t been in the headlines for breaking the attendance record, though. He’s been in the news because multiple reports have focused on his wearing a “Free Palestine” shirt at his two shows at the stadium.
“A few weeks after Macklemore was prohibited from performing at Gillette Stadium for making pro-Palestinian statements, Zach Bryan took the stage at Gillette in a black T-shirt reading ‘Free Palestine,’” the Boston Globe reported.
Fox News provided a bit more detail, noting that by wearing the shirt, he had put “the same message at the center of another high-profile concert moment.”
“The country star wore the shirt during his Friday night stop in Foxborough, just weeks after [the stadium’s owner, Robert] Kraft confirmed he did not want Macklemore performing at Gillette Stadium following the rapper’s pro-Palestinian remarks during Ed Sheeran’s tour,” the report said. “Macklemore had shouted ‘Free Palestine’ at MetLife Stadium before he was later dropped from Sheeran’s tour. Sheeran said the decision came from the promoter and venues, not him.”
The story of how Bryan came to wear the shirt is not fully known. His shirt also isn’t a traditional “Free Palestine” shirt. It doesn’t have a Palestinian flag logo.
Instead, it also says “an appeal to heaven” and has a pine tree on it. That phrase is from John Locke’s “Second Treatise on Government,” and the symbol and motto come from the American Revolution.
The Appeal to Heaven motto and flag has changed over time. Initially used by several naval ships in the American Revolution, it was also briefly a maritime flag in Massachusetts.
In 2024, however, it became associated with the Right in the US, the Associated Press reported. This would appear to mean that Bryan was perhaps doing two things at once: wearing the “Free Palestine” phrase to show that as a musician, he can wear what he wants; and also wearing a shirt with phrasing that would appeal to some in his country music base who are more Right-leaning.
Bryan was born in Japan in 1996 and raised in Oologah, Oklahoma. He deployed with the US Navy and served eight years, part of them in Aviation Ordnance. Like Johnny Cash in the US Air Force, Bryan honed his songwriting skills while in the service.
Bran's band wore shirts supporting Palestine, Hind Rajab
Bryan’s clothing choice has become a major topic of conversation on X/Twitter. Yashar Ali, the well-known commentator, wrote: “He is one of the biggest live draws in music, filling stadiums across the United States and in major cities around the world. Bryan served eight years on active duty in the US Navy and served overseas in Bahrain and Djibouti. Members of Bryan’s band also wore shirts supporting the Palestinian cause, including his drummer, who wore a jersey honoring the memory of Hind Rajab.”
This shows that the decision to wear the “Free Palestine” shirt was more than just Bryan. His band members wanted to send a message. Hind Rajab was a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed in 2024 in Gaza.
The band’s appearance with the shirts has caused some controversy. Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer wrote on X after Bryan’s first show: “Here’s hoping there is no night 2.”
It appears that the second show was even larger than the first.
Unlike the Macklemore controversy, no one has stepped forward to try to ban Bryan from playing. This is perhaps because the Macklemore controversy backfired.
This is what is sometimes called the Streisand Effect. It basically means that by doing something against something, sometimes the thing one is opposed to actually becomes more well-known. Trying to hide or censor something causes it to become more known.
This issue in music is well-known. Consider the film Straight Outta Compton, detailing the rise of the hip-hop group N.W.A. Its controversies also helped it become popular in the late 1980s and early ’90s.
The cause of supporting Palestinians isn’t a secret. Many people around the world support the Palestinians. For some, this issue has been a cause celebre for decades going back to the 1970s.
The controversy has grown since the October 7 massacre, however, with increased pushback, especially against the phrase “Free Palestine.”
Bryan’s appearance at Gillette Stadium in the shirt is probably a lesson. There are many forums in which bringing up the Palestinians may not be appropriate.
Musicians have history of political statements
Musicians and artists, however, are going to be a tough group to try to enforce this issue among. Musicians historically tend to be political. They do this even though some argue they should “stay in their lane.”
For instance, music defined the Vietnam War era, as well as opposition to the war. Consider the impact of Woodstock in 1969 and the idea of Woodstock.
Boston radio station WGBH, reflecting on the music of 1969, reported: “Joe McDonald’s ‘I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag’ electrified a crowd of young men and women who were sick and tired of hearing about the evils of communism and government excuses for dragging on the war in Vietnam that had never been officially declared – a war now in its 15th year.”
Over the years, however, there has also been pushback. When the Dixie Chicks critiqued the war on terrorism and US president George W. Bush, many were angry. This may have been due in part to the comments having been made in London and not the US. They could have spoken to an American audience about the war.
Not all music about war is protest music. There have been songs supporting American patriotism after 9/11. Musicians are not always only doing counterculture.
Bob Marley, for instance, sought to bring peace to political infighting in Jamaica during the 1978 One Love concert in Kingston. He brought People’s National Party’s Michael Manley and Jamaican Labour Party’s Edward Seaga onstage, where he clasped hands.
Marley knew the risks of involvement in politics, or even the perception that he was involved. Jamaica in the 1970s isn’t America in 2026. In December 1976, seven armed men attempted to kill Marley, shooting the reggae musician and four others.
There is likely a lesson in the story of Bryan and Gillette Stadium. A lot more people are drawn to music and sporting events than are drawn to political rallies.
Most major musicians are not wearing “Free Palestine” shirts. If pressed and feeling that they are being told not, however, it’s possible that more of them will be.