Ed Sheeran did not disappoint on his second sold-out show in DC on September 20 with his opening act, James Blunt, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The high-energy set to promote his new album, “Divide,” got fans excited and nostalgic all at the same time.
Sheeran began his set with “Castle on the Hill,” an acoustic tribute to growing up, which got the crowd on their feet and upped the energy in the room.
He called on the entire crowd to lose their voices in their enjoyment of the music and to dance like he knows everyone does in their room. He reminded the crowd that he was the only one who could see them because everyone is watching him, and he didn’t want to watch statues for the next few hours.
Never losing his energy during the set, Sheeran played through the next few songs before encouraging fans to sing along. The one-man band said that there were devices on either side of the stage to measure the volume of the crowds and told fans to sing along as loudly as possible to be the loudest crowd yet.
He continued into a mashup of “Don’t” and “New Man,” both well-received by a crowd who participated in an “ooh” call-and-response.
The crowd swooned as Sheeran sang a take on “I’m Feeling Good” and long-time fans sang along to “I See Fire.” However, the biggest moment of the night for long-time fans was likely the throwback to “Plus,” his 2011 album.
He mentioned a fan from the meet and greet asked him to play some of his old stuff because she had been a fan for a long time and said he had to sing “Kiss Me” for her. The crowd swayed with the easy strum of the song and the lyrics that had stuck with fans for so many years.
Just like that, an hour and a half had passed and Sheeran said “Nancy Mulligan” would be his last song of the night.
This proved to be untrue because he ran back onstage to cheers in a Washington Cap’s jersey. He encouraged the crowd to give their all for these last two songs and the crowd sang along to “Thinking Out Loud” and “Sing.”
Sheeran had his fellow English singer-songwriter Blunt open for him. After a few self-deprecating jokes about people coming to see Sheeran instead of himself, Blunt played some of his new music which was rather drowned in the buzz of excitement for the headlining artist. The crowd got on their feet for a favorite released 12 years ago, “You’re Beautiful.” To the younger members of the crowd, he said, “many of you were probably conceived to this song.”
The end of the concert was a hint at a future tour in the United States, that was confirmed in an Instagram live Sept. 22, this concert was an evening of nostalgia and love songs. Fans whispered with excitement as the crowds filed towards the Metro, hoping to see him the next time he crosses the pond.
