Ed Sheeran removed the B stage from his Philadelphia concert on Saturday 19 September, saying he was worried about what might happen if he stood in the middle of the crowd following a turbulent week surrounding Macklemore’s removal from his Loop Tour.
The 35-year-old singer made the admission during his first show since Macklemore was dropped from the US leg of the tour and several other artists and musicians withdrew in solidarity with the rapper.
Sheeran performed at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, where around 50,000 fans watched him address the controversy before continuing with a revised version of his show.
Why Ed Sheeran removed the B stage
The B stage is normally a smaller performance platform positioned away from the main stage, allowing Sheeran to perform closer to fans during parts of his set.
For the Philadelphia show, however, he decided not to use it because he was uncertain about how the audience would react to him.
“At this point in the show, I usually go to a B stage and I’m going to be totally honest with you, I didn’t know what this audience would be like.
“I didn’t know if I would have things thrown at me. I didn’t know if people would be angry at me.
“So I apologise that today is not the usual Loop show. I took the B stage out because I was afraid of what might happen if I stood in the middle. And I’ll admit that.”
The decision came after days of controversy over Macklemore being removed from the Loop Tour following his pro-Palestinian comments during a performance at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Ed Sheeran addresses Macklemore controversy
Macklemore was dropped from the US tour after his comments supporting Palestinians, with the decision becoming the subject of a wider dispute involving venues, promoters and artists.
Sheeran has previously said the decision to remove Macklemore was not made by him. During his Philadelphia show, he again addressed the issue and criticised the idea of venues influencing which artists can perform based on their content.
“I am deeply worried about the idea that venues pre-approved content forms… It should never happen in the free world.”
The controversy also prompted Sheeran’s other US support acts to withdraw. Finneas, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe left the tour, while Irish folk group Beoga also departed.
Sheeran said the changes left him trying to rebuild parts of the live show at very short notice.
“There are certain songs that just don’t work on the loop pedal. So, when my friends dropped off this show, I was thinking: ‘How am I going to keep the show the same? And how am I going to get musicians to stand on stage with me in a week where no one wants to stand on stage with me?'”
Alicia Enstrom leads Sheeran’s new backing band
With Beoga no longer part of the tour, Sheeran contacted violinist Alicia Enstrom, a musician he has previously worked with, to help assemble a new group.
“I rung up a friend of mine, she’s a superb human and I toured with her all of last year [on the Mathematics Tour] and the one the year before that.
“I said to her: ‘Would you stand on stage with me?’ And she said, yes. I asked her if she knew some musician friends and she said yes, and they’ve had three days to learn these songs.”
Sheeran introduced Enstrom on stage alongside Mike on drums, CJ on keys, Eric on bass and Clay on guitar.
He thanked the musicians for joining him despite the controversy surrounding the tour.
“I just want to say before they come onstage, they said yes to being onstage with the knowledge that the world thought I was a certain type of person.
“They said yes with the knowledge that the world may hate them too for standing on stage with me, and I am so grateful for them being here tonight and standing on stage with me in front of you guys.”
Gulf News reported that Enstrom helped put the new group together after Beoga’s departure, with the musicians having only three days to learn the material.
Sheeran speaks about Gaza and Israel
Sheeran also used the Philadelphia concert to directly address the Israel-Gaza conflict, saying he had spent the previous week thinking about how he should respond to the controversy.
He described the 7 October 2023 attack in Israel and at the Nova music festival as horrific, while separately describing the situation in Gaza as catastrophic and unjustifiable.
“I’m used to my music being criticised … This week the criticism was about something much more important … I am making mistakes and I am so so sorry …”
“What happened in Israel, and at the Nova music festival on October 7, it was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain.”
“What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate. My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation, loss of civilians’ lives. Children’s lives. At this systemic injustice, (what) we’re seeing unfolding in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.”
Reuters reported that Sheeran’s Philadelphia speech marked his first public comments on the controversy from the stage, including his criticism of the removal of Macklemore and his comments about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Sheeran says the past week has changed the tour
The singer also became emotional while describing the effect the controversy had on his personal and professional relationships.
He said he had been urged to cancel the tour and felt that people he had known for years were distancing themselves from him.
“In these situations you really find out who your friends are. It’s been a weird week. It happened very quickly. At the same time, I had so many people telling me to cancel this tour and so many people I’ve known for years and years and years they’re kind of backing away.”
Sheeran added:
“Everyone’s telling me to cancel and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me.”
Despite the pressure, he said the Philadelphia audience gave him a reason to continue.
“I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me.”
“People will say what they want, but I am doing this for you. I love you. I love this.”
The singer also said he had questioned whether the tour would continue and whether he wanted to return to the stage at all. NME reported that he described the previous week as one of the most difficult periods of his career and said he had been unsure whether he would perform again.
What happened to Macklemore on the Loop Tour?
The controversy began after Macklemore made pro-Palestinian comments during his 5 September performance at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey while supporting Sheeran.
He also performed his protest song “Hind’s Hall”, which addresses the war in Gaza.
Macklemore was subsequently removed from the Loop Tour. Associated Press reported that the rapper said multiple US venues had threatened to cancel shows if he remained on the lineup, while venue owner Robert Kraft separately cited concerns over Macklemore’s comments and previous rhetoric.
Sheeran has said he was not responsible for the decision and has pointed to promoter Messina Touring Group and venue restrictions.
The fallout continued when Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga withdrew from the tour.
What’s next for Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour?
Despite the changes to his stage production and backing musicians, Sheeran continued with the Philadelphia performance and confirmed that the Loop Tour would carry on.
The next US dates include shows at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on September 25 and 26.
The tour is scheduled to continue through North America before moving into Latin America later in the year.
For the Philadelphia show, Sheeran’s B stage was removed, his backing lineup was rebuilt in days and the singer used the concert itself to address the controversy that had reshaped the tour.
