Guitar Center’s Contest To Open For Ed Sheeran Is Real

What a time to launch a contest where the prize is opening for Ed Sheeran. The superstar singer-songwriter's stadium tour has been plunged into chaos over the past week. After opening act Macklemore caught flack from Israel supporters for using his platform to advocate for a free Palestine at Sheeran's New Jersey shows two weekends ago, the rapper was dropped from the tour on Monday. His ouster was spearheaded by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a personal friend of Sheeran's, who banned Macklemore from Boston-area Gillette Stadium and encouraged the owners of other stadiums on the tour to adopt a similar policy. Sheeran said he was not responsible for the decision, which came down from the tour's promoter, and argued he was "not complicit" in the suffering in Gaza. Nonetheless, Sheeran's backing band and all the rest of his opening acts dropped off the tour in solidarity with the Palestinian people, suggesting his Loop Tour had become radioactive for anyone who cares about free speech and human rights.Into that context enters a newly launched Guitar Center contest in which the prize is, yes, opening for Ed Sheeran. It's part of the retail chain's new Open For Legends progr...