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| Ed Sheeran @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Matt Pang) |
SANTA CLARA – Nearly 80,000 fans came together for a record-breaking crowd at Levi’s Stadium this past Saturday for Ed Sheeran’s sold-out concert. This topped the recent shows of Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and even Super Bowl 50 several years ago. Ed Sheeran brought his Mathematician Tour to Santa Clara after performing an intimate show at the Fox Theater in Oakland the night before. Ed, who’s a very personal artist, enjoys playing for crowds, whether it’s at an intimate venue or large, sold-out stadium.
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| Maisie Peters @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Matt Pang) |
The night started with opener Maisie Peters, who came out with a full band sporting a 49ers jersey and a custom Prada skirt. The 23-year-old English singer-songwriter is currently signed to Ed Sheeran’s label, ‘Gingerbread Man Records’. She opened up the show with the single "Body Better" from her latest album, The Good Witch, which was released three months ago. Taking time to thank the crowd and mentioning it was the first time she'd performed in Santa Clara, the crowd definitely embraced her. She later transitioned to her first album You Signed Up For This with hits like "I’m Trying (Not Friends)" and "Love Him, I Don’t". The set later moved to more recent singles like "You’re Just A Boy (And I’m Kinda The Man)", "Wendy", "Run", and later closed out with the smash track "Lost The Breakup".
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| Maisie Peters @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Matt Pang) |
Russ came next and continued to hype up the crowd, bringing a hip-hop element to the show. The loud 808s echoed throughout the stadium and got everybody up. He came out with large amounts of energy rocking his merchandise that said "SANTIAGO MADE IT TO STADIUMS" pairing it with camo cargo pants. Russ performed hits like "CIVIL WAR", "Do It Myself", and "The Flute Song". He expressed his gratitude and thanked Ed for allowing him to share the stage with him, saying that their relationship came organically after their first collaboration. It seemed like all of the openers had a genuine connection with Ed which proved that he is a humble and stand-up guy that many people have mentioned. These weren’t artists that the label tried to match in order to drive up ticket sales.
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| Russ @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Matt Pang) |
Before Ed Sheeran went on, a huge 360-degree display monitor covered the stage, with a countdown timer ticking the time 10 minutes before the show started. As the last minute counted down, you could hear a full stadium of 80,000+ fans cheering from their seats all the way to the floor, yelling every number from 60. By the last 10 seconds, I saw fans tearing up already out of excitement that they’re going to see their favorite artist. The huge display monitor rose from the ground up to the top of the stage, showing Ed strumming an acoustic guitar along with a full band to the fast riffs of "Tides". What an opener, as the energy of that song is so contagious.
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| Ed Sheeran @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Matt Pang) |
The set continued with "BLOW", his collaboration with Chris Stapleton and Bruno Mars with a full band, and continued the high energy. Pyro and fireworks were shot, which added a different element to the songs. What set this tour apart from a lot of other shows was the implementation of a 360-degree stage. The visuals were projected throughout the stadium, along with guitar-pick-shaped monitors that were hung up. It made everybody who attended this show, whether they were in the nosebleeds or on the floor, enjoy the show.
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| Ed Sheeran @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Matt Pang) |
Ed wanted to reinstate that this show is solely the sound of his guitar and that "everything is live, and there’s no backtracking". Throughout the show, you can see the pure effort of his strumming and singing every note. Without any backtrack, I must say that his voice is almost 1:1 with the CDQ versions of his songs. As he performed, the stage rotated and moved like a lazy susan as he projected his voice around the crowd. It made everybody able to get a glimpse of him, as he wasn’t just singing to one side or particular area of the stadium.
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| Ed Sheeran @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Matt Pang) |
Cell phones helped light up the stadium as Ed performed "The A Team," which had everybody singing from the top of their lungs. This later transitioned to the highly thematic "Castle on the Hill," which had orange lights illuminating the entire crowd. Pyro was shot throughout the track and continued to deliver high energy. Something I also noticed was that Ed was wearing a show-specific tour shirt that labeled Santa Clara on the back and matched it with custom Jordan 4s that had the tour colors painted on them.
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| Ed Sheeran @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Matt Pang) |
A point to mention from Ed’s set was the strong acoustics and sound that were projected. Although he was playing an acoustic guitar, the vibrating bass almost sounded electric. The set transitioned from Ed playing solo to playing with his full band, which included playing his collaborations like "River", with Eminem, "Peru", with Fireboy DML, and "I Don’t Care" with Justin Bieber. Ed later brought out Russ for a special performance of their collaboration "Are You Entertained". This felt like a wholesome moment, with the opener and the headliner sharing the stage.
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| Ed Sheeran @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Matt Pang) |
Ed also later brought out Alicia Enstrom, who performs the violin, to perform their collaboration "Galway Girl", which later transitioned to the smash hit "Thinking Out Loud". Ed mentioned, "This part of the set is now all sing-a-longs. You know the songs your grandma knows". This was followed up with songs like "Love Yourself" which is a Justin Bieber song that he co-wrote, "Photograph", "Perfect", and "Bloodstream".
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| Ed Sheeran @ Levi's Stadium (Photo: Matt Pang) |
It was very touching that Ed also acknowledged deeply his gratitude for the fans that came to see him perform. He mentioned that this isn’t just a performance for him, but for the fans who traveled miles to see him, and that there are many costs that add up from that. With high spirits, Ed closed out the show with "Shape of You" and finally "Bad Habits".
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