Ed Sheeran in Gelsenkirchen: First Germany concert in three years - and what a!

Created: 07/07/2022, 23:32

By: Katja Kraft

Ed Sheeran knows how to get the crowds excited.

© Ian West

Ed Sheeran is back in Germany!

In Gelsenkirchen he gave his first of nine concerts in this country.

And will play three times (!) in Munich's Olympic Stadium in September.

Our concert review.

When he sings, everyone gets a little happier after just one verse.

All of them, that means 180,000 people in Gelsenkirchen.

Pop star Ed Sheeran has filled the Veltins Arena three times in a row these days.

On Thursday evening he played the first of a total of nine Germany concerts on his current tour.

Sold out three times.

Runs for Ed at Schalke.

And not only there, in autumn the 31-year-old is coming to Munich, rocking the Olympic Stadium three times, on September 10, 11 and 12, 2022. (Remaining tickets at all known advance booking offices.)

Ed Sheeran relies on guitar, voice and loop machine

If there's a formula for incredible success, it's +-=÷x.

That's the name of the tour that brings Ed Sheeran back to the big stadiums.

The equation of the genuinely likeable Brit just always works.

Most recently, he was touring the world from 2017 to 2019 with guitar and loop station.

Tape?

He doesn't need it.

And that's why she only uses it sporadically on this evening in Gelsenkirchen.

As usual, Sheeran performs magic on most of the songs with just his voice and strings - and at the same time records soundtracks with his feet using a loop machine, which then roar through the hall in an endless loop at his command.

Despite all the success, it still has something of a street musician about it, which, in his heart of hearts, he is further along.

And looks a little funny.

As he stands alone on the big stage, the 1.73 meter little Briton.

Ed Sheeran's hits from new album '=' work perfectly live

After years of the pandemic, Sheeran deliberately puts himself in the middle of the crowd.

Fans can cheer for their beloved singer from all sides.

Dance with him, sing along to Ed Sheeran's new hits like "Tides" and "Bad Habits" and classics like "Castle on the Hill" and "Galway Girl", savor every moment (and ideally not with the phone camera, but in hold onto the memory).

Screens in the form of oversized guitar picks transmit the mischievous smile of the surprisingly fresh young father to the top echelons.

And if, for once, things get a little quieter (which is rare in this high-energy show), Sheeran interrupts his feel-good dance and stands at the edge of the stage, which conveniently rotates - like running sushi, but British delicacies are served.

That evening, Ed Sheeran also sings for his second daughter

"Perfect" for example.

One of the most magical love songs he ever wrote.

Of course you think of Ed Sheeran's wife Cherry.

The two have been parents to two daughters since May.

Another calculation that works out for him: two daughters = luck to the power of four.

Of course, one wonders why that is.

Why success just doesn't stop.

Why does a man of all people who does not conform to the usual ideals of beauty not stage himself in the social networks with prettied up photos, who keeps his private life in the background and, according to everyone who has met him personally, has remained completely down to earth, why exactly this man totally normal guy with his voice, his words, his guitar playing, always touches the hearts of so many people.

That's probably why.

Despite his celebrity status, Ed has remained human.

And in the end is thrown back on the same issues that concern everyone.

When it comes to deep feelings, the millions don't help either.

But make music, laugh, dance, cry, scream, jump, dream.

With thousands of others on a summer evening in a stadium somewhere in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Runs.