Where else could you see Ed Sheeran performing live on Halloween dressed as a zombie Prince Harry beside in the city of New Orleans?
Last time I saw Ed live was in 2015 when he closed out the Gentilly Stage during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest. Last night, Ed Sheeran returned back to the Big Easy as his Divide Tour stopped at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and it did not disappoint! Ed's fans were in for a night full of treats (no tricks) on Wednesday – and if you weren't in attendance, you definitely should’ve been. Here are six reasons why you shouldn't have missed Ed Sheeran's tour stop in New Orleans:
He's a One-Man Band. His show is probably one of the most simple shows to come to the Superdome but not in a bad way. Sheeran took the stage for two hours with no band, backup dancers, backup singers, or any of the elaborate flairs that concerts usually have like pyro and confetti. The 27-year old singer and songwriter performed for two hours straight alone on stage with nothing but his loop station and an acoustic guitar. In case you didn’t know, a loop station is this device that plugs into a guitar, mic, or any other type of instrument and allows artists to record multiple different parts live. Though a one-man band, Sheeran kept the crowd entertained the entire night and wanting more. It was amazing to see what Ed could create by himself in the moment.
The Openers. Lauv and Snow Patrol opened the show. Unfortunately, I missed Lauv’s set but I heard nothing but great things from people in the crowd who caught it! You should definitely check out his music (you probably have heard his single, “I Like Me Better” on the radio)! I did catch Snow Patrol’s set. The Irish alt-rock band is best known for their 2006 hit, “Chasing Cars” that gained a lot of popularity after being featured in Grey’s Anatomy’s second season finale. Sheeran gave a special thanks to the band later in the night for having him as their opener back in 2012. He acknowledged that during that tour, he performed in New Orleans for the first time! Also, both openers were in the Halloween spirit. Lauv dressed as Hulk Hogan while the members of Snow Patrol were Drew Brees, Teen Wolf, Magenta from Rocky Horror, and a musketeer!
An Interactive Crowd. From the couples on a date night to the groups of friends seeing their favorite artist live together, it was a diverse crowd of people in the Dome. And though playing inside of a stadium in front of thousands of people, Sheeran still managed to make everyone feel like you were apart of the show no matter where they sat. Some lucky fans were able to catch some of the guitar picks he threw during his set and also the belt from his costume! In between songs he stated, "As you can tell by now, this show is not about me. It's about us.” He instructed the crowd to jump around, get loud, use their voices, and even bounce their arms during beat drops. Only one time throughout the night did he ask everyone to be quiet and that was for his performance of “Tenerife Sea” where he asked for a “universal shush”.
His Setlist. Sheeran opened up with his multi-platinum single, “Castle on the Hill” before continuing the night with his 17 song setlist. “I try to play songs that people will know and that’ve been on the radio,” he said to the crowd. Though he played majority of his well known radio singles such as “Thinking Out Loud” and “Shape of You,” Ed also performed some more underrated tracks such as “Eraser” and “Galway Girl” throughout the night. Also, he performed a couple of mash-ups. In the beginning of the set he blended together his first US top 10 single, “Don’t” with a track from his latest album, “New Man.” Later in the night he mashed up Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” with his song, “I See Fire.”
Add Comedian to the List. We all know Ed Sheeran as the singer, songwriter, and even actor – he was on Game of Thrones last year! But did you know he’s also a comedian? After wishing everyone a Happy Halloween he stated, “I’m going to play some songs today that hopefully know and if you don’t know them then this is going to be a long two hours for you.” He told the crowd he had two rules for enjoying his show, to sing and dance. He then acknowledged that the audience was predominately female and called out the two kinds that won’t follow the rules aka the boyfriends who were dragged to the show by their girlfriends and the super-dads who were there to supervise their kids.
From Spooky Sheeran to Super Sheeran. Throughout the night, he rocked his “zombie Prince Harry” costume. Ed stated that he originally planned to dress as Prince Harry on his wedding day but felt it wasn’t “Halloween-y” enough so he decided to add some last minute zombie make-up. With darkened eyes and fake blood, Sheeran was the best (and probably only) zombie Prince Harry on his wedding day that I have ever seen. But what’s better than Ed Sheeran as Prince Harry? Ed Sheeran rocking a Drew Brees jersey! As he returned to the stage to perform his last two songs, “Shape of You” and “You Need Me I Don’t Need You”, he transformed from spooky Sheeran to Super Sheeran by rocking a New Orleans Saints Jersey at the end of the night!
Let me creep it real with you. He is fangtastic. He is spooktacular. He is wicked awesome. (I had to throw in some Halloween puns, sue me). But seriously, if you missed Ed's show in New Orleans last night, I definitely recommend seeing him next time he is in town or in a city near you!