Moments after he strolled onstage to meet his trusty acoustic companion, Ed Sheeran was charming Arlington's massive AT&T Stadium with his humility and everyday sensibility. Cascading down from the breathless opener, "Castle on the Hill," he admitted how wild it is to perform songs he used to play for two people in England to a 60,000-plus crowd in the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Wide-eyed but completely in control, the English musician dived right in and reciprocated the energy from his screaming fans with forceful strums and heavy-handed percussion. His acoustic guitar led the charge throughout the show Saturday night — he created the melody, beat and rhythm for every song with just the instrument and a live-looping pedal. Although the stage at AT&T Stadium is capable of fantastical productions, like those from U2 and Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Sheeran was content with a carousel of looming screens and a mic stand.
He glided into the bluesy ballad "Dive" with sultry vocals that burst into life as the chorus came to a head. An ocean of waving arms could be seen from every seat in the house as Sheeran belted out the declarative track written on the importance of being genuine.
Although most of his catalog resembles a poetic love letter, the vivid songwriter was jovial at every turn. He cracked jokes about the boyfriends and "super dads" who were there only because of their female companions, and made fun of his own lackluster dancing skills. The famously redheaded Brit is as lovable and captivating as his songs. Playing to the crowd, Sheeran also showed the home team some love.
"England doesn’t know much about football," he said, "but they know the Dallas Cowboys."
Before he tiptoed through the water colored chords in "Tenerife Sea," the song he deemed his favorite to play live, Sheeran cranked up the heat with the slow-burning number, "Bloodstream." He dug his way through the chanting bridge with ferocious flair, picking away on his humble acoustic. He never let that guitar out of sight — if he wasn’t playing, it was slung to his side, ready at a moment’s notice.
When you witness this well-balanced blend of singing and live looping, and his ability to build each tune one note at a time, it’s truly a wonder. With plenty of opportunities to lean on production or even a full band, Sheeran prefers to do it all himself. While his range isn’t as vast as other male performers, his tone and authenticity are spot on. Even though he’s sung "Thinking Out Loud" for years, he belted it out as if he was serenading his fiancée for the first time.
With other guitar-wielding singers like Harry Styles, Shawn Mendes and Niall Horan in the spotlight, it's easy to wonder whether Ed Sheeran helped set the tone for the young heartthrobs. Much like Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars, the multi-Grammy winner has made it acceptable to be vulnerable and heartwarming in a flashy and often racy industry.
As Sheeran made his way through his lengthy list of hits like "Shape Of You" and "Happier," it was easy to forget his latest record came out a year and a half ago. The audience didn’t give it a second thought — they erupted with excitement when they recognized a song and unabashedly sang along.
The same can be said about the evening’s opener, Snow Patrol, a band that rose to fame in the early 2000s. As soon as "Chasing Cars" began, many fans shot to their feet and held up beaming cellphones as they belted out the building chorus. Nearing the encore, Sheeran recalled how he opened for the alt-rock group in Dallas in 2012, and revealed he has written multiple songs with the band throughout the years.
Shortly after his brief nod to his two opening acts, Lauv and Snow Patrol, he revived 2014’s "Photograph" with a pounding beat from the body of his guitar and intricately woven vocals that were live looped and layered atop one another. He made one of the slowest songs of the evening sparkle to life, and gave fans the exclusivity of a show performed without backing vocals or even recorded music.
He followed with "Perfect," an aptly named track recently re-released as a duet with Beyoncé. He played the graceful harmony for the hushed audience, letting the magic set in. The song had warmth about it, like a steady, glowing ember that didn’t need a flashy finish or momentous chorus.
Ever the charmer, the sheepish singer stepped out in a customized white-and-blue jersey for the short and sweet encore. The English musician was far from home, but seeing him sport the famous Cowboys colors made Sheeran feel like one of our own. Although he was playing to a football stadium full of fans and not a tiny audience of two, Sheeran performed with soul and proved this one-man show is big enough for any stage.
