Ed Sheeran fulfilled a childhood dream by joining The Offspring onstage in California at the weekend, and performing a song from the first record he ever bought.
The English singer/songwriter superstar joined the veteran southern Californian pop-punk band onstage at the BottleRock Napa Valley festival on May 26, to play Million Miles Away from the band's 2000 album Conspiracy Of One.
Introducing Sheeran to the festival crowd, The Offspring's Dexter Holland said, “Ed told us that one of our records was his first CD that he ever bought when he was a kid. That really meant a lot to us, so we thought, Wow, we’d love to have you come out to join us on stage. We’re gonna play one of the songs you wanted to play.”
Sheeran added further context on Instagram, posting a video of himself showing the band an Offspring tattoo on his arm, with a caption stating: “The first album I ever bought was the @offspring – Conspiracy of One. I used to pretend to be in their band in the mirror and sing along to the album when I was 9, mostly to their song Million Miles Away as it was the first song of theirs I heard.
“I mentioned it in an interview and Noodles / Dexter got in touch with me when we found out we were all playing the same festival, to see if I wanted to get on stage and sing it. It was an instant yes obvz. Really felt like living out a childhood dream thank you for having me up there guys. Music is a wild ride, every day I’m so grateful to be living my dream in reality. Hope you enjoy the vid x”
Watch Sheeran's video, and fan-filmed footage of the performance, below:
Prior to headlining at BottleRock tonight in Napa, Ed Sheeran joins The Offspring for “Million Miles Away” @BottleRockNapa @offspring @edsheeran pic.twitter.com/LUEytTbrBCMay 27, 2024
Sheeran has made no secret of his love of rock and metal in recent years, collaborating with Bring Me The Horizon and Cradle of Filth, and joining The Darkness onstage in London to sing Love Is Only A Feeling. Back in 2018, Korn guitarist Brian 'Head' Welch posted a photo of himself and the Suffolk singer/songwriter backstage at a show in Nashville, and revealed that Sheeran had told him that he'd been listening to Freak On A Leash earlier that same day.
