08.11.23/08.12.23 – Photos by Chris Dummer and Jessica Fredette / Review by Jessica Fredette

This past weekend, August 11 and 12, global sensation, Ed Sheeran took over the Twin Cities, performing a sold out show at State Theatre on Friday and a nearly sold out show at U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday. Although the second show was not quite sold out, Sheeran still managed to break the all-time ticket sale record. Sheeran also made a quick stop at Lego Land at Mall of America earlier Saturday afternoon to perform “Lego House,” one of the songs that started his career over ten years ago (and that he sadly didn’t perform at either show.) 

Singer/songwriter Ben Kweller kicked things off on Friday night. Kweller performed very joyfully with just an acoustic guitar and then moved to a piano for a few songs, including “Thirteen,” which he performed for Sheeran and his wife, Cherry during the first dance at their 2019 wedding. Kweller chatted with the audience a bit before singing the song, “Falling” from his debut album, Sha Sha, that was released a little over twenty years ago. After letting the audience know that he would be hanging out at the merch table after his set he ended with the song, “American Cigarettes” and his fans voluntarily began a call and answer type back and forth with him during the chorus. Before leaving the stage, Kweller lovingly gave a shout out to Minneapolis musician, Mason Jennings. 

Four time Grammy winner, Ed Sheeran returned to the 100+ year old stage of the 2200 capacity State Theatre after ten years (he performed there on his first tour) with a beaming smile on his face and without a word immediately began his set with “Boat” and “Salt Water” off of his latest and fifth studio album, Subtract, that was released in May of this year. Sheeran was backed by a full band that included keyboard, drums, bass, two electric guitars, and even a small orchestra section with several violins and an upright base. It wasn’t until after these first two songs that Sheeran directed his attention toward the audience, stepped away from his mic stand, walked to the edge of the stage with mic in hand, and explained to the sold out room the reasoning behind why he decided to add smaller shows to his stadium tour. He stated that he felt as if the songs on Subtract just didn’t feel right being performed in such large venues and that throughout his career all he ever wanted was to perform in a room full of people who would be quiet and just… listen. 

It kind of makes you wonder why some artists perform in such large venues in the first place if this is the way they feel. As a lifelong music lover it’s always been quite bitter sweet for me anytime one of my favorite artists or bands gain success. As they get bigger and bigger they become less and less personable and accessible. On one hand you, of course, want them to have all the success and fame in the world, but on the other hand there’s still always a part of you that also wants them to remain your little secret. I actually swore to myself for a long time that I would never see a concert at a stadium simply because it’s just… a lot. Too much. Too big. Too impersonal. Why pay so much money just to have to see your favorite artists on venue screens because they’re the size of ants on the stage that’s so far away? And now I’ve seen two. Apparently the answer to the question of why some artists and bands perform at such massive venues is simply logistics. They have so many fans and have to fit as many of those fans into a show as possible, otherwise they’d have to perform several shows in a row in every single city and that’s just not feasible. Or leave a whole lot of fans disappointed and that’s not ideal either. 

Sheeran went on to perform the entirety of the Subtract album while stopping in between each song to tell the audience the deeper meaning and inspiration behind each and every one. “Eyes Closed” and “Life Goes On” were written while Sheeran was experiencing the heartbreak of losing his best friend, Jamal. “Dusty” was inspired by breakfast time spent with his daughter. He realized that, oddly enough as a musician himself, he wasn’t playing music at home and so as a way to incorporate music into his daughters life he started having her choose vinyls for them to listen to together in the mornings. “Colourblind” was for his parents and their 40th wedding anniversary.  “Curtains” was inspired by having good friends who are always there to help you out of a difficult time, ie depression.

Sheeran spoke fondly about being inspired by singer/songwriter, Damien Rice as a kid. How he always wanted to perform with a full band but was “too geeky” for that “with red hair and glasses,” and ultimately decided that performing solo with just loop pedals to create the sound that he wanted made more sense. He joked that he can’t “shred” electric guitars like Guns N’ Roses. 

Sheeran then spoke a bit about collaborating with Aaron Dessner of The National and how some days during this time were filled with nothing but writing songs due to the hardships that he was facing not only with Jamal passing away but also Cherry’s cancer diagnosis while pregnant with their second child. He chose “The Hills of Aberfeldy” to be the last song on the album simply because he “is stubborn” and wanted the album to end how he wanted the album to end after spending so much time on it. 

Although some of what Sheeran spoke about during this half of the set felt a little rehearsed and rushed, it was still an amazing opportunity to see such a successful and large scale artist so up close and personal. I’m very grateful to have been one of the few lucky people to experience that, even more so after my unsuccessful attempt to purchase a ticket when they first went on sale. 

After a huge round of applause and standing ovation the band left the stage and Sheeran began what he called the “Happy Hour” half of the set. He then performed seven of his hit songs including “Shivers,” “Shape of You,” “Perfect,” “Thinking Out Loud,” and after a fake exit, the second song that kick started his career, “The A Team.” This half of the set had the audience on their feet and was more fun and lively than the first. Then it was time to sit down, put phones away at his request, and listen to three new songs, “Crashing In Head and Heels,” “Blue,” and “Magical,” from his forthcoming album that appears to be titled Autumn. It seems that now that Sheeran is finished with the mathematical album title theme he’s possibly moving on to the theme of seasons? Sheeran mentioned that the new album will be released off of his own record label. Is he now going in the same direction as his friend, Taylor Swift, releasing new albums one after another without the typical record label restrictions? We shall see.

Sheeran ended the two and a half hour long set with a completely acoustic, not even a mic, performance of “After Glow.” Standing once again at the edge of the stage, he beautifully sang the song using only the natural acoustics of the old theater. Sheeran exited the stage exactly how he entered it; with a smile that lit up his face as the audience gave him a massive round of applause and yet another standing ovation. 

Saturday was exactly what I expected – a drastic change from the night before. The songs that were performed so intimately at the theater were now performed in front of 70+ thousand people and accompanied by flashing lights, huge video monitors, and pyro. 

Opening the show were Cat Burns and Khalid, but unfortunately as media we don’t get to see the openers entire sets as we are escorted out after taking photos of the allotted first three songs. I was pretty bummed about missing Khalid in particular. 

Sheeran performed in the round, which doesn’t seem to happen too often. I thought that was going to give everyone in attendance a great view but was a bit disappointed to see him face only one section of the stadium for the majority of the show, causing those of us who were seated in different sections to get a side view or even worse, only a view of his back. 

Sheeran performed for two hours, a little less time than the night before, and gave this much larger audience even more of his hit songs including, “Castle On The Hill,” “Give Me Love,” “Galway Girl,” “Photograph,” and even a seemingly random cover of “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber. 

My favorite part was when he took a couple of minutes to talk about how he had just spent two or three full days in Minneapolis and expressed his love for our city due to the fact that we are such huge music lovers. That is so true. Minneapolis has a very large and incredible live music scene. We are very proud of that fact and of all of the established and acclaimed musicians that have come from here, as well as all of the talented up and coming musicians that will keep this city known for exactly that. I attended Friday night’s show with a friend who just happens to be one of those up and coming local musicians and it made me really happy to see him beaming with musical inspiration after experiencing the rare opportunity of seeing Sheeran perform from the front row in such an intimate setting. I’m not even originally from here yet I feel that same pride for this city and its live music scene, as both have allowed my own dreams to become reality. 

Sheeran exited the stadium stage by once again mysteriously exclaiming that “Autumn is coming” and “I’ll see you soon!”