As the years roll on, so to does my repertoire of concerts. The list now includes big ticket names like Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, The Killers and of course, Ed Sheeran. In fact, following the culmination of this weekend, Ed is now the only artist that I have had the pleasure of seeing live on two occasions. His last trip to New Zealand was in 2023 when he performed two shows at Eden Park. The concert was introduced by three opening acts, followed by Ed of course who strutted across a striking rotating circular stage while employing the repeated use of a loop pedal as he delivered nearly three hours worth of fan favourite music to the packed stadium.
Fast forward a few years and Ed’s recipe in 2026 remains much the same, after all, if it ain’t broke! But while his recipe might remain the same, he does tinker with the ingredients. In 2023, an eclectic mix of musicians opened for him, these included Maisie Peters and Kaylee Bell, the latter of which helped reignite my fondness for country music. This time around, the lineup was equally as diverse featuring Irish girl band Biird, Aussie popstar Mia Wray and another Aussie in Vance Joy, most famous for his song, ‘Riptide’.
While I reached the stadium at the end of Mia Wray’s set, I have it on good word that Biird was impressive. Mia’s performance too seemed to go down well with the crowd who were very receptive when she promised to return with a show of her own. Just in time for Vance Joy’s set, the Australian indie artist took to the stage backed by a band of musicians that included a trumpet player and a saxophonist among others! Yes, Vance did play ‘Riptide’ at the very end but there were some other gems in there too. An upbeat cover of KISS’ ‘I Was Made for Lovin’ You’ and ‘Georgia’ deserve honourable mentions but my pick of the bunch was ‘Divine Feelings’ which has spent some time on loop since the day. Speaking of which, it’s time to talk about Ed Sheeran!
Following the end of Vance Joy’s performance, the largest screen in Australasia returned to its bright pink hue, boldly instructing the crowd to follow the QR code and request a song. Then as the clock struck 8pm, the screen began playing a video of Sheeran narrating his story and what an amazing one it is! As the story progressed, so too did a steady stream of screams from the crowd which forced me to turn around and much to my disbelief, there was Ed Sheeran himself. He sprinted up to the smaller stage, picked up a guitar and without so much as a word uttered, went straight into his first song, ‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You‘. A brief interval and welcome followed before Ed upped the energy with ‘Sapphire‘, a crowd favourite from the sound of things and a tune lifted from his most recent album, ‘Play’.
Determined to keep the energy high, Ed continued on with ‘Castle On The Hill‘, the intro of which he even messed up, taking a moment to laugh at himself and telling the crowd “that’s how you know it’s live, I just messed up.” Ever the consummate professional though, Ed redeemed his stumble by following up with ‘A Team‘. Four songs in and while Sheeran had used the loop pedal to some extent, his next tune would put the little device through its paces, ‘Shivers‘ was equally as popular with the crowd in 2026 as it was in 2023, so to was ‘Don’t‘ which followed soon after.
Six songs in and Sheeran finally took a breather, slowing down the tempo of the night by telling the crowd the tragic story of his late friend Jamal, in whose memory ‘Eyes Closed‘ was written, a tune which he dedicated to all those who had lost a loved one. At this point, Ed hinted at the list of requested songs for the night, picking out an audience member’s sign that said “please sing Lego House”, to which he proceeded to sing ‘Lego House‘ as that audience member screamed her lungs out! Sticking with the theme of audience requests, Sheeran then went on to thank the crowd for their interest in his latest album, going on to employ a keyboard as he set his loop pedal up for ‘A Little More‘. Crazy to think how just one man, a guitar and a small electronic pedal could grasp the attention of 40,000 people for nearly three hours!
Going from one of his latest songs to some of his oldest works, Ed went on to play two back to back songs from his ‘Plus’ album, ‘Kiss Me‘ and ‘The City‘, the latter of which being about his experience of moving from rural England to London at 17, in pursuit of his dream of being a professional musician.
Speaking of professional musicians, Sheeran invited a group on stage after his performance of ‘Give Me Love‘, claiming that he couldn’t perform these next few songs without them. The keen eyed crowd spotted a band member with a violin in hand so no surprises as to what the next song was going to be! Prior to belting out ‘Galway Girl‘, Sheeran said he would be keeping his eye out for a lone Irish person going crazy to the tune. An interlude separated this tune from ‘Old Phone‘ which was accompanied by a story from Ed, based on the experience of firing up his old phone, being welcomed by texts from his dead friend as well as the resumption of an argument with his ex! A rap heavy tune came ahead of ‘For Always‘ which softened the energy in the lead up for his next tune.
‘Camera‘ is off his 2025 album and was beautifully dedicated to his wife, a special song like this deserved its own moment. Before performing this, Ed requested the audience to take out their phones and turn the flash on so that on cue, Go Media Stadium would sparkle like a finely cut diamond, “Coldplay have glowsticks and we have camera flashes” said Ed before extending a heartfelt thankyou to the crowd. You can tell that this one is something special to the British singer-songwriter.
Sticking with the theme of things that flash/sparkle/glisten but with much more energy, Sheeran jumped straight into ‘Celestial‘. Turns out the audience weren’t quite done with their phones just yet as darkness descended and ‘Photograph‘ was played, prompting the crowd to wave their hands and torches in the air.
Thus far, Ed had spent the evening showing us why he is on the world’s foremost singer-songwriters, playing a properly eclectic mix of his own songs. At this point though, he stopped to tell the crowd about how at the time of his first release, he was prepared to be a full-time songwriter if the singing thing didn’t go quite so well. We all know how this story goes but as a genuine talent, Sheeran kept applying his hand to songwriting, penning hit after hit for other artists as well. A good excuse for him to fire up the loop pedal again and play the crowd a medley of some of his tunes where he was solely the writer, not the singer. The list included ‘Eastside’ by Benny Blanco, Halsey and Khalid, ‘On The Day We Fell In Love’ by Alyssa Ryan, ‘Cold Water’ by Major Lazer, Justin Bieber & MO and ‘Love Yourself’ by Justin Bieber, proving the depth of Sheeran’s accomplishments as a songwriter.
Sheeran then turned his attention back to audience requests as a couple in the crowd close to the stage reminded him it was their first wedding anniversary, to which Ed dedicated ‘Thinking Out Loud‘ and ‘Perfect‘. No matter where he goes in the world, these are the songs that seem to mean the most to people, often being picked for the honour of a couple’s first dance. An honour which Sheeran is well aware of as he promised to “never not play these songs.” The love story continued but this time it was for New Zealand, a country that is loved by Ed and his family. He claims that if he wasn’t a singer-songwriter and hadn’t married a girl from Ipswich then he would have just moved to New Zealand, “I just love it here” he exclaimed. He went on to say that launching his tour in Auckland meant he got to spend a month in the country, a trip which his family have clearly enjoyed. Naturally then, Sheeran had to play his ode to Kiwi-land next, ‘I See Fire‘ which was written in Wellington!
Things then took a sinister turn as ‘I’m A Mess‘ flowed into the bedlam of ‘Bloodstream‘ which saw the huge screen shoot flames, strobing red lights and more across the dark Auckland sky, the crowd erupted with applause in the period of silence that followed the completion of this tune, well deserved because it truly was a spectacle.
For his final monologue of the night, Sheeran, being the wholesome guy he is, extended a thank you to the crowd. An appreciation of sorts for those who had travelled far and wide to see him on the night, those who had booked travel and accommodation and of course those who had caught the non-existent trains on a busy evening in Auckland. A performance of ‘Afterglow’ followed as Ed quickly disappeared off stage in an ending that was far too abrupt for his style. Naturally then, a rousing applause from the crowd commanded his return, which he did, this time exchanging his green t-shirt for an Ipswich Town FC jersey instead. His hometown club now sporting Sheeran’s concert tour as its shirt sponsor rather than the usual betting house or media company.
Donned in athletic wear, Sheeran reminded the crowd that he would now be performing the last few songs of the night, to which he was expecting plenty of standing, jumping and the like. This naturally called for one of, if not his biggest hit, ‘Shape of You’ had the crowd up on their feet before ‘Azizam’ had the floors trembling with vibrations from 40,000 jumping fans.
There wasn’t a moment to rest, with the energy high and a curious tune on the loop pedal, Sheeran kicked off his final tune of the night, ‘Bad Habits‘ which had the crowd jumping even more so. Not only did Ed step up to the occasion of this song but so too did his team, the lightshow serving up a treat as well as a small fireworks display that closed off the show.
All in all, Ed Sheeran delivered another memorable night, this time filled with his greatest hits as well as some of his lesser known tunes from both early and later albums. He’s one of the world’s foremost singer-songwriters, leading the charts in album sales and streams, as well as playing to more than 15 million people in his time. Despite it all, Sheeran reminds us that he is so grateful to do what he does and can never forget what a privilege it is to be on stage, performing to such a crowd.
A strong catalogue of music, creative use of a loop pedal and a likeable personality, what more could a fan want?
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Words and pictures by Matthew D’Souza
