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Ed Sheeran listed one of his musical heroes as a “special guest” for his concert in Atlanta after the controversy over the drop Macklemore from its Loop Circuit.
Multiple social media reports confirmed that he is the former frontman of The Fray Isaac Slade played an abbreviated set before Sheeran’s headlining performance at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday 3 October.
In between playing Fray hits like “How to Save a Life” and “You Found Me,” Slade, 45, told Sheeran fans he was “honored to be here.”
“Everyone seems to be taking sides in this world and that’s a good thing,” Slade said from the stage. “What’s happening over there [in Gaza] it’s wrong but if we’re going to get through, we need people to enter that middle ground, that common ground. That bonfire in the middle of the field that sees both sides, that understands that peace is not the absence of conflict. Peace is not a blank canvas that we must protect and behave. “
Isaac Slade of Heath
Theo Wargo/Getty Images for CBGBHe continued. “[Peace] holding enough beauty, enough tragedy, enough sadness, enough joy and life if we learn how to integrate and keep each other in balance. We will find a way through this together.”
Slade previously joined Sheeran on stage during a Loop Tour concert in Toronto in August, where the “Shape of You” singer, 35, spoke about The Fray’s influence on his early career.
Earlier on Saturday, Mercedes-Benz Stadium shared a “Know Before You Go” graphic on Instagram with key details about the show, including the addition of a “special guest” to open before Sheeran took the stage at 8pm ET.
Sheeran has often been solo on his account Loop Tour concerts a few weeks ago after support concerts Evidence, Lucas Graham Backing band Beoga quit in solidarity with Macklemore, 43.
Macklemore is embarking on his own tour after being dropped as Ed Sheeran’s opening act for singing “Free Palestine” on stage. “If the past few weeks have shown us anything, it’s that something has shifted over the past three years,” the rapper, 43, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, September 24. […]
Macklemore played at two Loop Tour concerts at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last month, igniting controversy when he shouted “Free Palestine” and played his protest song “Hind’s Hall.”
Sheeran’s tour partners announced days later that Macklemore was being pulled from the tour after Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft and other venues reportedly threatened to cancel upcoming shows in which he was a part. (Sheeran’s shows at Gillette Stadium were canceled anyway due to weather concerns.)
“Ed Sheeran and his team have decided to take me out of it Loop Tour. I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim,” Macklemore wrote on September 14 in response to being ignored. “We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world. Regardless of the consequences any of us have for what we say, we get to go home to our families. “
Sheeran has come under fire from the public for his handling of the controversy. At Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on September 19, Sheeran admitted that he “makes mistakes” and was “so sorry” for how the ordeal turned out.
Ed Sheeran performed with a new backing band at his concert on Saturday, September 19, after his former band left the Loop Tour in conjunction with Macklemore’s controversial exit. “There are some songs that just don’t work on the pedal,” Sheeran, 35, said at his concert in Philadelphia, according to social media footage shared by Billboard. “Therefore, […]
“This has put me in the middle of an important, passionate argument about freedom of speech on the most complex issue on the planet,” Sheeran told fans. “[My music] it has always been a safe place for everyone. That’s very important to me.”
He continued, “Honoring my commitment to my fans is also absolutely essential to who I am. That’s why I’m here tonight – by myself – continuing on my own tour.”
Sheeran said he was “very concerned” about interference with free speech issues, apparently referring to pressure from Kraft, 85.
“It should never happen in the free world,” he said.
The Loop The US Tour ends at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on November 7th. Sheeran will then embark on a mini tour of Latin America before finishing at the Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes in Mexico City on December 11.
