{"id":290207,"date":"2026-09-20T10:16:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T10:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/290207\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T10:16:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T10:16:11","slug":"ed-sheerans-first-concert-since-controversy-philadelphia-show-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/290207\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran’s First Concert Since Controversy: Philadelphia Show Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEd Sheeran<\/a> needed to address the situation before he could start playing guitar. It wasn\u2019t how he wanted to start his show, and he\u2019s made it abundantly clear that the last thing he wants around him is controversy or, in his words, to be an \u201cactivist musician.\u201d <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tExplore\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n

\n\tBut here he was, at the first show after his opener and friend Macklemore was kicked off the tour, following pressure by a group of venue owners led by Robert Kraft who took issue with Macklemore\u2019s statement of support toward Palestine. That led to the rest of the tour\u2019s openers and even Sheeran\u2019s backing band for the tour dropping off the tour in solidarity with Macklemore \u2014 all of which became a huge news story and PR nightmare for the usually very un-controversial Sheeran. And though he had already made one highly scrutinized statement<\/a> online while the news story was at its most potent, Sheeran felt the need to address the crowd at Philadelphia\u2019s Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday night (Sept. 19) in person, before the show really started.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m used to my music being criticized, and I\u2019m always happy to take that because I\u2019m lucky a lot of you like my stuff, and to be honest, I\u2019m surprised,\u201d Sheeran said. \u201cI\u2019m not surprised that other people don\u2019t. It\u2019s normal. But this week, the criticism was about something much more important, and I\u2019ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I\u2019m so, so sorry.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhat happened in Israel at the Nova music festival on October 7th was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is is happening in Gaza is catastrophic, unjustifiable, and disproportionate,\u201d Sheeran continued. \u201cMy heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians\u2019 lives, of children\u2019s lives. And the systemic injustice we\u2019re seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI am already speaking to people across the spectrum to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims of these terrible times, and listening and learning because I do not know enough,\u201d he concluded. \u201cI honestly am so grateful that you\u2019re here tonight with me. This concert is still a place where everyone is welcome, and everyone here can stand beside people that have opposing views. Everyone here can stand by people that they don\u2019t agree with on everything, and they can all agree on singing these songs. And these songs are about love, hope and unity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe crowd in Philadelphia \u2013 a nearly full Lincoln Financial Field \u2013 enjoyed that, and there was little sign of any controversy from that point on in the stadium. Any protests outside of the venue had disappeared by the time most of the crowd had shown up, and if there was heightened security as reports had suggested<\/a>, it wasn\u2019t obvious. There were maybe a few extra news crews reporting on the show as people filed in and out, but if Sheeran hadn\u2019t brought it up, the crowd did not seem like one particularly anxious about any elephant in the room.<\/p>\n

\n\tSheeran\u2019s \u201cLoop Tour\u201d centers around his performances mostly entirely alone, using a loop pedal to create backing tracks each night and mostly spending time on stage alone. But now without openers and the backing of Irish band Beoga, who pulled out of the tour out of solidarity with Macklemore and empathy toward Palestinians, Sheeran\u2019s solitariness was magnified. At the break in the show where he would have typically gone to a separate \u201cB stage\u201d setup, Sheeran explained that that part of the show had been scrapped for safety, as he was concerned about \u201cwhat might happen<\/a> if [he] stood in the middle\u201d of the crowd.<\/p>\n

\n\tWithout directly calling out Beoga \u2014 and assuming the crowd either knew the full story or didn\u2019t need to know that detail if they weren\u2019t privy to it \u2014 he introduced his backing musicians <\/a>for the evening, led by violinist Alicia Enstrom, who has toured with Sheeran in the past, and proceeded with the section of the show that included the Ireland-set \u00f7 hit \u201cGalway Girl.\u201d Sheeran didn\u2019t elaborate whether this last-minute backing band would stick around for later dates on the tour.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was mostly business as usual after that first statement, with Sheeran only occasionally letting on that things were different. Before introducing \u201cOld Phone,\u201d he joked that \u201cuntil this week,\u201d the only time he appeared in the news was if he was in court. Earlier, he jokingly asked if the crowd enjoyed the openers. Such comments were subtle enough that if an audience member, especially one of the many kids in the crowd, weren\u2019t in on it, it might just go over their heads and they\u2019d move on. If you didn\u2019t get it, don\u2019t worry about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBefore the big finale, though, Sheeran took a seat on the edge of the stage and made his lengthiest statement of the night, even longer than the one at the beginning, which was clearly being carefully referenced from a teleprompter. This one was a little more off-the-cuff and maybe even slightly less prepared.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe last week of my life has been one of the worst weeks of my life, and today has been one of the weirdest days of my life. Tonight has been honestly the best show of my life,\u201d Sheeran declared. \u201cI really didn\u2019t know whether this tour would carry on, I really didn\u2019t know whether I\u2019d get on stage again, whether I even wanted to be an artist at all. But, you know, in these situations, you really find out who your friends are. And it\u2019s been a weird week. I just feel like everything happened very quickly. And the whole time I have so many people telling me to cancel this tour, and I have so many people falling out of my life that I\u2019ve known for years and years and years, people just kind of backing away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSheeran said that the reaction from his audience strengthened his resolve to make sure the show, and tour, went on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI saw ticket sales for this gig, and I didn\u2019t see cancellations, I saw people buying tickets. I\u2019m there, and everyone\u2019s telling me to cancel, and I\u2019m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me. And I look at the end of the week, and I see 50,000 people who haven\u2019t abandoned me. People will say what they want, but I\u2019m doing this for you. I love you. I love this. I love the unison we have here. I love the feeling this concert brings. I love bringing people together of all races, all religions, all political ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe finished by leaning back into something reflective of his original statement online and the commitment to unity \u2014 apologizing for the fact that he had to make a statement and take something resembling a stance at all, in his eyes complicating what should be a simple night of music free of any argument or tension.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cA lot of people here have differing opinions, and we\u2019ve had a great night. And you are standing next to people and dancing with people who you may disagree with. And you probably understand them better by being, you know, one and love. I have had so many opinions on this. But the root of it is love. And if this tour ends, love doesn\u2019t win. Love doesn\u2019t win. You know? I can\u2019t let you guys down. That\u2019s why I\u2019m here tonight, on my own, for you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSheeran then wiped his eyes, stood up, and then he went into the last few songs of his set, complete with pyrotechnics, like nothing had even happened.<\/p>\n