Kanye West’s upcoming concert in Tbilisi, Georgia, has sparked discussion in the music industry after reports linking the event to executives affiliated with Live Nation Israel.
According to a report published by Rolling Stone on May 14, the rapper, now known as Ye, is scheduled to perform at Dinamo Arena on June 12 as part of the Starring Georgia initiative, a programme partly funded by the Georgian government to bring major international artists to the country.
The event reportedly sold out its 70,000 available tickets within a day. Production staff connected to the concert were also said to have arrived in Tbilisi ahead of the performance, with social media posts from Live Nation Israel head and Bluestone Group founder Guy Beser drawing additional attention online.
A spokesperson for Live Nation told Rolling Stone, “Live Nation is not producing the Ye show in Georgia; the show is being produced by Blue Stone Productions”.
The report added that Live Nation Israel has internally used the label “Live Nation Central Asia” for work across Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
The partnership has generated debate due to West’s past antisemitic remarks and controversies, which previously led to concert cancellations in several European countries.
The rapper faced widespread criticism after making inflammatory comments about Jewish people and releasing material that prompted backlash across the entertainment industry.
Rolling Stone noted that West has recently attempted to repair relations with the Jewish community. In January, he published a full-page apology in The Wall Street Journal, writing, “I owe a huge apology once again for everything that I said that hurt the Jewish and Black communities in particular. All of it went too far.”
Industry figures quoted in the report questioned whether the collaboration reflected changing commercial priorities within live entertainment.
“It’s very disturbing,” one Israeli music executive told Rolling Stone. “Everything Kanye has said and done against the Jewish community is unforgettable, and for many people, deeply hurtful.”
The concert is currently expected to proceed as scheduled despite ongoing criticism surrounding the partnership and West’s past conduct.
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