Ed Sheeran enlisted one of his musical heroes as a “special guest” for his Atlanta concert following the controversy over dropping Macklemore from his Loop Tour.
Multiple social media reports confirmed that The Fray’s former frontman Isaac Slade performed an abbreviated set before Sheeran’s headlining performance at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, October 3.
In between performing Fray hits like “How to Save a Life” and “You Found Me,” Slade, 45, told Sheeran’s fans that he was “honored to be here.”
“Everybody seems to be taking sides in this world and that’s good,” Slade said from the stage. “What’s happening over there [in Gaza] is wrong but if we’re going to get through it, we’re going to need people to step into that middle place, that common ground. That bonfire in the middle of the field that sees both sides, that understands that peace is not a lack of conflict. Peace is not a blank canvas that we need to guard and be polite.”
Isaac Slade of The Fray Theo Wargo/Getty Images for CBGB
He continued. “[Peace] holds enough beauty, enough tragedy, enough sorrow, enough joy and life if we learn how to integrate it and hold each other in balance. We will find a way through this together.”
Slade previously joined Sheeran onstage during a Loop Tour concert in Toronto in August, where the “Shape of You” singer, 35, spoke about The Fray’s influence on his early career.
Earlier on Saturday, Mercedes-Benz Stadium shared a “Know Before You Go” graphic on Instagram with key details about the show, including the addition of a “special guest” to open before Sheeran took the stage at 8 p.m. ET.
Sheeran has frequently found himself solo on the bill at his Loop Tour concerts in recent weeks after support acts Finneas, Lukas Graham and backing band Beoga all quit in solidarity with Macklemore.
Macklemore performed at two Loop Tour gigs at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium last month, igniting controversy when he shouted “Free Palestine” and performed his protest song “Hind’s Hall.”
Sheeran’s touring partners announced days later that Macklemore was being removed from the tour after Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft and other venues reportedly threatened to cancel upcoming shows he was a part of. (Sheeran’s shows at Gillette Stadium were ultimately cancelled anyway due to weather concerns.)
“Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from the Loop Tour. I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim,” Macklemore wrote on September 14 in response to being dropped. “We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world. Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families.”
Sheeran has faced considerable public pushback for how he handled the controversy. At Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on September 19, Sheeran admitted he’d been “making mistakes” and was “so, so sorry” for how the ordeal turned out.
“This has put me in the middle of an important, passionate argument about freedom of speech on the most complex issue on the planet,” Sheeran told fans. “[My music] has always been a safe space for everyone. That matters hugely to me.”
He continued, “Honoring my commitment to my fans is also completely essential to who I am. That is why I’m here tonight — on my own — continuing my own tour.”
Sheeran said that he was “deeply worried” about interference in freedom of speech issues, seemingly referencing pressure from Kraft, 85.
“It should never happen in the free world,” he added.
The Loop Tour’s U.S. trek wraps up at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium on November 7. Sheeran then heads off for a mini-tour of Latin America before finishing up at the Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes in Mexico City on December 11.