{"id":264092,"date":"2026-09-20T13:07:36","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T13:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/20\/ed-sheeran-says-hes-grateful-for-new-backing-band-to-stand-on-stage-with-me-after-controversy\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T13:07:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T13:07:36","slug":"ed-sheeran-says-hes-grateful-for-new-backing-band-to-stand-on-stage-with-me-after-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/20\/ed-sheeran-says-hes-grateful-for-new-backing-band-to-stand-on-stage-with-me-after-controversy\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran Says He\u2019s \u2018Grateful\u2019 for New Backing Band to \u2018Stand on Stage With Me\u2019 After Controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Ed Sheeran <\/b><\/a>performed with a new backing band during his Saturday, September 19, concert after his previous team left the Loop Tour <\/i>in solidarity with Macklemore<\/b>\u2019s controversial departure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are certain songs that just don\u2019t work on the loop pedal,\u201d Sheeran, 35, said during his Philadelphia concert, per social media footage shared by Billboard<\/span><\/a>. \u201cSo, when my friends dropped off this show, I was thinking, \u2018How am I going to keep the show the same? And \u2018How 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?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheeran famously plays his concerts live without an accompanying band, using only a loop pedal to mix each track. For the Loop Tour, <\/i>the singer-songwriter enlisted Irish band Beoga to assist on his tracks \u201cGalway Girl\u201d and \u201cNancy Mulligan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beoga voluntarily left the tour<\/span><\/a> earlier this week in solidarity with opening act Mackelmore, 43, who Sheeran\u2019s touring company dismissed over comments about the Israeli-Palestine conflict. (The \u201cThrift Shop\u201d rapper chanted \u201cFree Palestine\u201d during his sets at Sheeran\u2019s two New Jersey concerts earlier in September.)<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Ed Sheeran Says He’s ‘So Sorry’ at Philly Show After Macklemore Controversy<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tEd Sheeran returned to his Loop Tour after opening act Macklemore was dropped from the lineup for making pro-Palestinian remarks onstage. \u201cBefore I play some songs tonight, I hope it\u2019s okay if I say a few words about this last week,\u201d Sheeran, 35, told fans during the Saturday, September 19, concert at the Lincoln Financial [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI rung up a friend of mine, she\u2019s a superb human and I toured with her all of last year [on my Mathematics Tour<\/i>] and the one the year before that,\u201d Sheeran said on Saturday, introducing violinist Alicia Enstrom<\/b>. \u201cI said to her, \u2018Would you stand on stage with me<\/a>?\u201d And she said, yes. I asked her if she knew some musician friends and she said yes, and they\u2019ve had three days to learn these songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheeran, who previously denied personally asking Macklemore to leave the tour after mounting pressure from stadium owners hosting Loop Tour <\/i>shows this fall, issued a statement<\/span><\/a> at the start of Saturday\u2019s concert.<\/p>\n

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