Despite the chaotic week, Ed Sheeran said his Linc stop was the ‘the best show’ he has ever had

Ed Sheeran took the stage in South Philadelphia on Saturday night for the first time since the British singer-songwriter became the unwitting center of international political debate.

“This week has been the worst of my life, and today has been the weirdest,” Sheeran said to the sizable crowd to begin his performance at Lincoln Financial Field.

Rapper Macklemore was fired as the opener of Sheeran’s “Loop Tour” last week after he performed his 2024 protest song “Hind’s Hall,” about pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University while showing footage of the war in Gaza and repeatedly shouting “Free Palestine.”

Macklemore’s dismissal from the tour led to outcry among some, who saw it as the quashing of free speech. Other opening acts subsequently left the tour in protest, including Sheeran’s backing band.

With pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the Linc before the show, and the backlash that grew over the week, it seemed the weight of the world was on Sheeran’s shoulders.

He began the show solo, stepping onto an empty stage at 8:14 p.m. and delivered a speech seemingly read off a teleprompter, at one point getting emotional, saying he never wanted to be a political artist. He opened his set addressing the controversy.

“I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I am so, so sorry,” he told the crowd.

He directly addressed the war in Gaza saying, “What happened in Israel and at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7 was horrific, and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate. My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and the loss of civilians’ lives. Children’s lives.”

He also said that his show had to be altered because of the events of the previous week — including his stage setup and backing band. Later in the three-hour set, he admitted that Macklemore’s exit from the tour led to a lost connection with longtime friends, many of whom urged him to cancel his tour. The new band and the broader audience on Saturday encouraged him to go on, he said.

Throughout the night, the sympathetic audience cheered and shouted “We love you, Ed” when Sheeran reaffirmed his intention to make music that unifies fans of differing creeds and political views. The crowd ranged from young children to gray-haired fans, each appearing to have their own distinct relationship to the songs sprawled across Sheeran’s catalog.

Sheeran may not consider himself a political artist, but the blowback from last week’s events largely altered his stage show.

“I hope you enjoyed my supporting acts,” he jokingly said to the amused audience. Of course, there were no supporting acts after the likes of Aaron Rowe, Finneas, Lukas Graham, and his backing band, Beoga, quit in solidarity with Macklemore.

Sheeran said that he removed a secondary stage that had been a part of his other concert stops, fearing retribution from the audience. “I took the B stage out because I was afraid of what would happen if I stood in the middle, and I will admit that,” he said.

But that change was unwarranted in South Philadelphia, as the outside pressures had little effect on the crowd, who danced in the aisles and aimed their cell phone cameras at Sheeran throughout the night.

He also introduced his new backup band, consisting of a drummer, guitarist, bass player, keyboardist, and violinist, who came on board on three days’ notice, knowing “the world may hate them” for performing along his side. The band impressed with its sharp performances of “Galway Girl” and “Nancy Mulligan.”

In a show that was marked by inconsistency, the musical star glided through his catalog of hits with an acoustic guitar and a series of loop pedals at his feet. As he sang hits like “The A Team” and “Castle on the Hill,” Sheeran layered his vocals and percussions, creating a live arrangement of synchronized sounds and stacked melodies.

The experience, with pyrotechnics and vibrant graphics displayed on a background screen, was akin to attending what felt like an open-air studio session. Though the clashing of unregulated sounds on songs like “Take It Back” occasionally drowned out his lyrics.

Sheeran’s pensive demeanor at the top of the show soon grew to comfort, as he rattled off jokes and peppered the crowd with stories linked to his songs.

Sheeran seamlessly transitioned from jubilant, up-tempo records like “Sapphire” and “Galway Girl” to emotional tracks such as “Eyes Closed.”

But the stories Sheeran shared of his first cheesesteak experience in Philadelphia back in 2012 and the past heartaches that led to songs like “Old Phone” often spiraled into disconnected tangents that pulled audiences out of an already lengthy concert experience.

“This is where we can congregate, and we all have differing opinions, but then we all come together for one night and agree on the same thing. And I think it’s a wonderful thing,” he said.

After what started as a week like no other Sheeran has faced in his music career, he said Saturday was “the best show [I’ve] ever had.”