Ed Sheeran stepped in as his own support act after his scheduled opener, Khalid, was involved in a car accident before a recent show.
The 32-year-old was set to go on stage hours later at Maryland’s FedEx Field but following his support act’s fender bender, he decided to entertain fans with songs from his latest album, Subtract, which was released in May.
In videos captured by concertgoers, the hitmaker explained to the crowd that his 25-year-old tour mate wouldn’t be able to make his slot and wished him a speedy recovery.
Sheeran shared: “Khalid got in a car accident and he’s recovering, and we wish him the best.”
He went on to add: “I’m going to say this after every song because if people don’t know who was going to be the opening act today, people are going to be walking in being like, ‘This show isn’t what I thought it was. I thought there would be more fireworks.’”
While his impromptu performance may have lacked the theatrics of his main show, Sheeran explained that he was thrilled to be able to see the crowd and admitted it was “fun” opening for himself.
Ed Sheeran opening for…Ed Sheeran!!! What a treat! #edsheeran #edsheeranfedex#edsheeranlandovermd pic.twitter.com/1IHqojqVVp
— 🌸Onward🌸 (@beaches_n_mts) June 25, 2023
The A-team singer continued: “Usually when I start playing, it’s like pitch-black and now I get to see everyone. It’s awesome. This is pretty fun.
“I kind of feel like when you’re the main act, there’s a bunch of pressure because people have paid to see you but I feel like when you’re the opening act you’re sort of like, ‘Let’s have fun. Let’s play songs.’”
Between songs, the British singer shared his best wishes to Khalid and hoped he would be well enough to join him at his Boston date.
He said: “I just want to say, before I introduce this next song, that I really hope Khalid gets well soon and that he’ll be joining us in Boston.”
The Standard has contacted Khalid’s rep for comment.
Sheeran’s Mathematics tour is scheduled to conclude on 23 September 2023 in Inglewood, California.
