Ed Sheeran sold out Brooklyn’s 18,000 seated arena, Barclays Center’s, for the 3rd night in a row on Sunday, Oct. 1st.
Opening for the world’s best solo male artist was James Blunt, who announced to the crowd he was a distant relative of Sheeran.
“I know you all aren’t here to see me,” Blunt told the crowd over his microphone. “And that’s okay. I know you only know one of my songs, and I am not going to sing it.”
Blunt was referring to his one-hit-wonder of a song, “You’re Beautiful.”
The crowd was mixed with laughs and sighs of disappointed as the singer continued on his musical agenda.
Before he introduced Sheeran to the stage, he surprised the crowd with singing the one song he refused to sing; the entire crowd belted out the lyrics after the first strum of the note: “My life is brilliant/my love is pure/I saw an angel/Of that I’m sure.”
When Blunt left the stage, crewmembers flooded the stage to reset for Sheeran and the audience waiting excitedly for what would soon be the best concert of their lives.
The red haired, bestselling international artist opened up with one of his first singles “Castle on the Hill” from his new album, “÷.”
Sheeran entered center stage and the crowd shrieked in star-struck unison.
Altogether, the choir of strangers came together for the first line of the song: “When I was 6 years old I broke my leg/I was running from my brother and his friends.”
Sheeran ended “Castle on the Hill” and greeted the crowd as soon as the prolonged applause ceased.
Audrey Conforti, sophomore Health Studies student, was one of the 18,000 in attendance at Sunday night’s show. “Tonight is a night I’ll never forget,” Conforti said wearing her new Ed Sheeran Tour shirt.
“I did not sit down the whole concert and I sang the entire time. There were no special effects, no dancing, just his pure, raw talent.”
Conforti was lucky enough to score free tickets to his sold-out show, when a friend of a friend won them on a radio station and wasn’t able to go.
Sheeran managed to fit 17 songs into an hour and a half of stage time and did so effortlessly.
He sang majority of work from his latest album, with a few surprise songs from previous albums, such as “The A-Team” from “+” and “Thinking Out Loud” from “X.”
He swiftly transitioned into his tracks, with a special twist of creating a mashup between an older song, “Don’t” with a song from his new album, “New Man.”
The crowd’s feedback was undoubtedly pleased; when he made the switch into the new lyrics, the vibe from the audience was instantaneously excited.
Sheeran “ended” the show with his song, “Sing,” which was a hit single off his album previous album.
For the encore, he returned to the stage after chants of “Ed” to preform his final two masterpieces: “Shape of You” and “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You.”
Sheeran puts on an amazing show that showcases his raw, unfiltered talent.
As a renowned artist, he dazzles audience members with his soulful voice and heart-felt lyrics that are simply contagious.
PHOTO COURTESY of AUDREY CONFORTI
