It’s nearly a quarter after 8 p.m. on a Saturday night in Philadelphia and no one inside the Lincoln Financial Field really knows what to expect. Ed Sheeran is supposed to take the stage any moment now, but there’s no sign of the musician.
Crew members
adjust a singular mic stand at the center of the round, elevated stage against the bright pink LED screen that reads “Loop Tour.” Fans find their seats, while others talk amongst themselves. “Where is he?” one woman asks. “It definitely feels emptier,” another remarks. “Theres a whole section over there where there is nobody,” one says, pointing to a section of empty midnight green seats. Just before the show is set to start, various sections in the stadium still have remaining tickets available on Ticketmaster with floor seats selling as low as $90.
Then the LED screen goes black and everyone forgets about the empty seats around them. Ed is here — and he looks ready to talk. “Before I play some songs tonight, I hope it’s okay if I say a few words about this last week,” the 35 year-old superstar says, his nerves palpable as he reads off of a teleprompter.
It’s the moment tens of thousands of people at the stadium — and online — have been waiting for. What is Sheeran going to say at his first concert since finding himself at the center of a controversy that touches on some of the most charged issues of our time, like the Israel-Gaza war,freedom of speech, and the power of billionaires.
Earlier this week, Sheeran came under fire for not supporting his tour opener, Macklemore, after the rapper was removed from the rest of the stadium tour once several venues, including the Robert Kraft-owned Gillette Stadium, allegedly told promoter Messina Touring Group that they would not allow the rapper to perform due to his onstage statements at MetLife Stadium in support of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, including a call for a “free Palestine.”
At the time, Sheeran said, he had tried to “find a mutual resolution for all, but the venue’s and promoter’s decision was final.” By Tuesday afternoon, all of his remaining tour openers — Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Row — had dropped out of the tour along with Beoga, who played as a backing band for a portion of the set.
The Loop Tour was well underway at the time of Macklemore’s removal, having kicked off in Australia earlier this year. But after the controversy, heightened attention turned to Sheeran’s next tour stop in Philly as the world questioned just how it would play out. Would Sheeran be forced to cancel? How would he navigate without opening acts? Would there be protests? Was it safe to attend? Would anyone even be there? (Not if the online hate towards the musician signified real-life turnout).
Some fans with tickets to the concert, like Dan Shapiro, felt conflicted about going. A father of two, Shapiro had purchased tickets to the concert last September with the idea of turning it into a family outing. “We have very different tastes in our family,” Shapiro said on Saturday morning. “But everyone kind of likes Ed Sheeran.”
After Sheeran’s controversy following the Macklemore removal, the whole family wasn’t onboard anymore. “I’m sitting here in a family where I have one kid who’s saying, ‘Dad, I really still want to go.’ One who said, ‘Dad, I really don’t want to go.” His 14-year-old, a big Sheeran fan, was still excited about seeing “Castle on the Hill” live, but his 11-year-old daughter felt differently. “She doesn’t feel safe. There’s going to be protests, there’s going to be disruptions and stuff like that. I don’t entirely feel safe,” Shapiro said. If the decision was his only, he would have just stayed home. Instead, he and his wife decided to divide and conquer: she’d stay home with her daughter, and he’d venture to what he expected to be a not-so-well-attended show at the Linc with his son.
Shapiro was fortunately able to get a refund on Ticketmaster for the two unused tickets. “We were just assuming we’d be eating the cost,” he said. But as a TikTok user with a focus on making videos about concert tickets, Shapiro saw people online talk about how they got their refunds. He went about getting one through Ticketmaster. “There was no pushback,” he added.
Another concertgoer, Bridget Goes, also managed to get a refund when she called Ticketmaster. But Goes just wanted to purchase better seats on the floor for a lower price than her boyfriend had paid for the tickets he gifted her last Christmas. “It made me feel better that at least less money was spent,” Goes says. “But in the grand scheme of things, I’m not saving any lives,” she said. “I follow Jesus,” she added. “I think that he would be very upset with what’s happening in the Middle East right now. He would not support a war and bombing and starvation.”
As a proud Christian, and fan of Macklemore, she recalls being conflicted when she heard the news that he’d been dropped from the tour. “It was just like, ‘Do I want to put my money where my mouth is?” Instead of boycotting the show, Goes realized she could share live updates from the concert with her TikTok followers in order to communicate what was actually happening on the ground at the Linc. “I wanted to come to prove that all this outrage online is all talk,” Goes said. “It’s so wonderful that people care that much and that they are so passionate, but the concert still happened. There’s still a ton of people here,” she added.
Hours before Sheeran took the stage, a small group of pro-Palestine protesters had gathered at the NRG Septa station just outside of the sports complex that houses the Linc. They waved large Palestinian flags, held “Free Palestine” signs, and criticized the U.S. government’s involvement in the war.
“Fuck your concert, fuck your plans, Palestine is our demand,” the few dozen protestors chanted as they wore keffiyehs. Organized by a coalition of Philly-based groups like Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG), many attendees weren’t solely focused on the Sheeran concert. “It’s not even about him,” said protester Shauna Leibold. “I just want to make sure the Palestinian people know that we’re here with them,” she added.
But other protestors were brought to the South Philly corner because they had planned to go to the concert until Macklemore was dropped. “We were actually more excited to see Macklemore,” said Georgi Martinez, referring to her friend Emily, who also attended the protest. “We just didn’t feel right going anymore,” she adds. “We’re huge supporters of ‘free Palestine,’ so we really want to come out and just let our voices be heard for those who can’t be heard.”
“Unfortunately, we’re out 250 [dollars], but at least we can do something about everything,” Emily said, explaining that she had paid a friend for her ticket and wasn’t asking for her money back. “Those seats will be empty,” she added.
Brown University student Brandon Ateke, who wore a large Palestinian flag around his neck like a cape, also planned on leaving his seat at the show empty after he decided not to go. “I know everybody hates on his music, but I used to really enjoy it,” he said of Sheeran. But now, Ateke criticized Sheeran’s apolitical take. “You can’t be someone everyone can love when people are dying because then they can’t love you,” he said. It was also a “deal breaker” for Ateke to “support someone who’s complicit in a genocide,” the 18 year-old added. (Humanitarian groups and a United Nations commission have said Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide. Israel and its allies, including the United States, have denied this.)
Rami Even-Esh, an Israeli-American who raps under the name Kosha Dillz, attended the protest with the hope of talking to some protestors about the issues they were behind, like an Israeli restaurant boycott in Philly. “They were like, ‘We don’t talk to Israelis,” Even-Esh said. The rapper drove down from New York to see the scene at the concert because it resonated with him as a performer. “Macklemore knows Israeli artists and never reached out to us,” he said, adding, “I’m also sort of a victim in this world of getting canceled just as an Israeli-American artist.”
After the protest was over, Even-Esh freestyled in front of the gates to the Linc. “I’m not waving an Israeli flag outside,” he said. “I’m here to entertain people and connect.”
That’s exactly what happened when Forrest Purdy and his two daughters came across the rapper on their way into Sheeran’s concert and began recording his performance on their phones. “I love street performers,” Purdy said. “It’s intellectual because he’s doing everything off the top of his head.”
As a retired Marine, Purdy also had strong opinions about the political backdrop of the concert. “Macklemore said himself, he’s no expert on the issue. Well, if you’re not an expert on an issue, don’t stand on a stage and talk about it,” Purdy said. Similarly, he didn’t think Sheeran needed to address everything that had happened since the Sept. 4 show when Macklemore shared his comments. “He just needs to play his music,” Purdy said, adding, “Just because he’s talked about other political issues before doesn’t mean he has to opine about this.”
Once the sun had set over I-95, any inkling of tension had dissipated. The scene outside of the Linc felt like a normal show at the venue, the parking lots spotted with tailgates as vendors sold Philly Factory pretzels and bootlegged merchandise.
Most concertgoers didn’t want to talk about the political backdrop of the show, and were only intent on making it inside. “It’s way too complex of an issue,” one told me in passing. Others didn’t let it ruin their excitement.
“It’s just a fun night out,” Jess Gurry said. “We never do this,” she added, referring to her friend Lauren Tarpino who was tailgating alongside her in a lot outside of the venue. Both were taking their two daughters to their first-ever concerts — and making the most of the experience. They wore Loop tour shirts and made friendship bracelets for the occasion. “The music is what we’re really here for,” Gurry added.
Inside of the Linc, the sweet smell of Chickie’s & Pete’s crab fries wafted, beers were poured, and rhinestone eye makeup set. Everyone was ready for the show.
As soon as Sheeran took the stage, fans inside the stadium squealed and shouted with excitement. “Thank you for being here with me tonight,” the musician said, choking up. After an impassioned performance of “Castle on the Hill,” it was clear that most of these concertgoers were devoted fans, or just simply wanted to have a good time. Buoyed by the energy, Sheeran dropped his guard as he spoke after the opening number. “I didn’t know whether I’d be here or not,” he admitted. Sheeran opened his mouth to say more, before shaking his head. “Tonight is about having fun. I love being here with you. I’ve already said what I needed to say.” Famous last words.
Once Sheeran realized that the crowd was not, in fact, ready to to pelt him with things, he could barely stop talking between songs. At one point, he sat down cross-legged on the stage as he kept chatting. “I didn’t know what was going to happen tonight,” he admitted. “I didn’t know whether I’d be safe or you’d be safe … but I’ve felt so much love from you guys and I’m so grateful,” the singer added, tearing up. Before Sheeran dove into his encore of pop favorites, he ended the night with a powerful message. “The world is a scary place right now. America is a scary place right now,” he said through his tears. “This gives hope.”
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