Ed Sheeran: The Mathematics Tour
Add, Multiply, Divide, Equals, and Subtract. When most people hear these terms, they think of the basic mathematical operations that they learned in elementary school. However, to English singer-songwriter, Ed Sheeran, they mean so much more. These are the titles of five out of six of Sheeran’s studio albums.
Similar to Taylor Swift’s “The Era’s Tour,” Ed Sheeran is currently on his “Mathematics Tour” where he has been performing songs from each of his mathematical eras. This serves as Sheeran’s fourth concert tour. The tour consists of three legs: Europe, Australia, and North America, and there are a total of eighty-eight shows.
The first show on tour took place in Dublin, Ireland, and Sheeran proceeded to move through the rest of Europe and into Australia. Excitement quickly spread throughout North America as photos and videos that depict just how great of a show Sheeran puts on were shared on social media sites like TikTok. After much anticipation, Sheeran opened the North American leg on May 6, 2023 in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Sheeran’s group of opening artists for the North American leg consist of Khalid, Russ, Dylan, Rosa Linn, Cat Burns, and Maisie Peters. Each show consists of only two of the opening artists, so there are various pairings of opening acts throughout this leg.
On June 3, local fans arrived in masses at the Lincoln Financial Field to see Ed Sheeran perform. The Philadelphia show was opened by Dylan and Khalid who put on show-stopping performances. However, nothing can compare to the concert put on by Ed Sheeran himself.
For each of the concerts, Sheeran performs on a revolving stage in the center of the stadium which allows for the entire stadium to be filled with concert-goers as everyone has an excellent view. Those in general admission get the chance to see Sheeran revolve around the stage at an eye-level view which makes the performance feel much more personal. Those in seats also receive a great view of the performance as Sheeran has large displays around the stadium that are both aesthetically pleasing and provide a close-up look of the performers.
In total, Sheeran performed a total of twenty-seven songs at his Philadelphia show which consisted of both performances with the full band and by himself. His setlist consists of fan favorites like “Thinking Out Loud,” “The A Team,” and “Photograph,” as well as newer songs like “Eyes Closed” and “Boat.”
What makes an Ed Sheeran concert so unique is his use of “looping” while on-stage. This is a musical technique where an artist creates a layered musical texture in real-time by using a “pedal” device. Therefore, Ed Sheeran makes the back-track for the song he is about to sing while he is on stage by producing sounds with his guitar, piano, voice, and other instruments and layering them together. This process shows just how talented of an artist Sheeran, and it adds to the entertainment of the show.
During his Philadelphia performance, Sheeran even ran into a bit of trouble while performing one of his most popular songs, “Shape of You.” He accidentally created the wrong loop for the song not once, but twice, which caused the singer to make a few jokes on stage and allowed the audience to hear the catchy intro to the song three times.
All in all, an Ed Sheeran concert is truly such a special and fun-filled experience. The British singer-songwriter connects to his fans through his touching lyrics, amazing vocals, and his jaw-dropping rap skills. Both entertaining and affordable, The Mathematics Tour is definitely not one miss.
