Edward “Ed” Sheeran is an English singer/songwriter and musician. If you’ve only ever heard Ed’s songs on the radio, and have never seen him perform live, you may not realize that he performs solo, with no band. It is a little weird seeing him walk onto an empty stage, with only a guitar in his hand, but he somehow proves that making an arena performance feel intimate is possible. Ed relies heavily on loops and his live performances are anywhere from 5-7 minutes per song. He begins each song with a rift, then a few chords, then comes the guitar playing, and then whispers a harmony line before he finally starts playing and singing.
His debut album, + (read as “plus”), containing the singles “The A Team” and “Lego House”, was certified 6× Platinum in the UK. Sheeran’s popularity in the USA began in 2012. In the US he made a guest appearance on Taylor Swift’s fourth studio album, Red, and wrote songs for One Direction. “The A Team” was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2013 Grammy Awards and he performed the song in duet with Elton John during the ceremony. He spent much of 2013 touring North America as the opening act for Swift’s The Red Tour. His second studio album x (read as “multiply”) was released worldwide in June 2014. It came out the day Shelby and I started a big European vacation and served as the soundtrack for the trip. In 2015, x won the Brit Award for British Album of the Year, and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.
In the fall of 2013, Sheeran performed three sold out shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden as a headline act, one of which Shelby and I were lucky enough to attend. It was amazing to see all of the elements of his performance occur simultaneously. Even more amazing was the fact that he somehow convinced an arena of 20,000 people to sit down and not make a peep while he stood on stage and started a song completely acapella, WITHOUT A MICROPHONE. And he was heard. He also debuted his song Tenerife Sea at that show, explaining the song was written following that year’s Grammy Awards, when lots of people were “talking shit.”
At an Ed Sheeran concert you can expect to be wowed by Ed’s ability to go from one song right into another so seamlessly that if you are not paying close attention you may not even notice. He casually slips multiple pop-music references into his songs. I was lucky enough to see him at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn this past weekend (btw Beyonce was there!) and there was one time he went from rapping, into Superstition, into Ain’t No Sunshine without batting an eye. He even does mash ups of his own material singing a cool combination of Don’t and Nina from his album x.
If you like Ed, check out Shawn Mendes, Kodaline, and Bastille. Also, 21 fun facts about Ed.
Ashley xx