February 27, 2026 — 11:13am
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MUSIC
Ed Sheeran | Loop Tour ★★★★
Marvel Stadium, February 26
Everyone seems to know how famous Ed Sheeran is except for Ed Sheeran. Despite having sold more than 200 million records worldwide, the pop star (reportedly) still catches trains to his gigs and strolls through crowds to reach his stage, no fanfare in sight. If it weren’t for the tens of thousands of fans screaming his name inside Marvel Stadium on Thursday night, you’d think he’s still just busking for pennies.
Ed Sheeran performs at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.Richard Clifford
It’s therefore fitting that he opens with You Need Me, I Don’t Need You, a rapid-fire track about sticking it to record labels and doing it all for himself.
This idea is the guiding light of the Loop Tour. Sheeran returns to his humble roots, the days when he had little beyond a knack for songwriting, to present an intimate, one-man show.
“Everything tonight is live, there’s no backing track,” he tells the crowd early on, referencing his signature loop-pedal, which layers guitar, percussion and vocals in real-time. “It will be deleted at the end and won’t be the same tomorrow.”
The best demonstration, he says, is his 2021 pop explosion Shivers. Layer by layer, the song comes to life, beginning with plucked strings, then a thumping bass line and finally his falsetto vocals. It’s a masterclass in song production, as if we’re inside his recording studio watching inspiration flow through him.
Sheeran gives a masterclass in song production, as if we’re inside his recording studio watching inspiration flow.Richard Clifford
It’s an experience you don’t usually get at a concert, let alone a 2½-hour stadium show. Despite being the only person on-stage (with nothing but a massive screen accompanying him), Sheeran keeps every audience member engaged – from a young girl in a fairy dress to an older man in office attire, both of whom are dancing in the aisles like their lives depend on it.
Much of this is thanks to the ebb and flow of his performance. He gets us on our feet for upbeat dance tracks like Don’t and Celestial, and then brings us back down for soulful ballads like Thinking Out Loud and Perfect.
He’s so attuned to the crowd that he even takes song requests via a QR code, playing older gems like Little Bird and I’m a Mess. As a sign of our appreciation, we follow his every plea, vigorously clapping during newer hits like Azizam and even harmonising during Give Me Love.
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Granted, being the only person on-stage comes with limitations. During The A Team, one of Sheeran’s most beloved songs that he wrote when he was just 18, the loop-pedal creates an echo chamber. Sound reverberates off the stadium walls, distorting the vocals so much it becomes difficult to sing along.
The limitations of a solo show become most apparent when Irish folk band Beoga briefly joins Sheeran for Galway Girl, Nancy Mulligan and I Don’t Care. The extra presence invigorates the crowd, with some literally screaming in exultation as the fiddle strikes up.
All this aside, the Suffolk star accomplishes something few other artists could. His “normal” appearance gives way to extraordinary talent on-stage, exciting the crowd so much they create a mini earthquake with their feet while demanding an encore of Shape of You and Bad Habits. Sheeran so convincingly transforms a stadium show into an intimate busking gig, it’s a wonder he isn’t drowning in gold coins by the end.
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Nell Geraets is a Culture and Lifestyle reporter at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners