Ed Sheeran Has Big Plans For His North American Tour

Ed Sheeran’s performances generally consist of him and a guitar. However, that doesn’t mean the songwriter isn’t making his live shows something truly spectacular.

Although Sheeran is extremely well-known across the pond, the singer believes he’s yet to become a household name in the United States. To make sure everyone in North America is well-versed in his unique musical stylings, Sheeran is bringing his tour Stateside. Instead of just sitting onstage with a guitar, Ed is putting together a show that will dazzle fans and “surprise” folks who aren’t overly familiar with his work.

During his chat with USA Today, Ed Sheeran promised that his live shows are well worth the price of admission. Instead of keeping things simple and low-key, Sheeran is making sure everyone gets plenty of bang for their buck.

“It’s a big production show, in terms of lights and video screens behind me… it’s essentially me onstage with a guitar, but the sound gets quite big, because I used the loop station. Use the crowd to your advantage and do a lot of call and response. Have your intimate moments, but have them sandwiched in between the big, grandiose moments.”

Although it makes sense that Ed Sheeran would want to amp up the theatrics for his live shows, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a huge success. The folks over at The Seattle Times are certainly fans of Sheeran’s music, but writer Katharine Schwab could have done without some of the show’s more extravagant elements.

“There were moments when he overdid it. ‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You’ had so much going on that the original song was lost under layers of sound. But Sheeran’s musicianship was technically creative and made him more than just a guy with a guitar and some catchy melodies.

“The show’s laughably silly visuals, splayed out across nearly 10 screens behind him, detracted from the simplicity of his songs. ‘Lego House’ had images of Legos; his performance of ‘I See Fire,’ written for the most recent installment of ‘The Hobbit,’ was backed by clips of a dragon from the movie. ‘Sing,’ the show’s finale, had cartoonlike eyeballs tumbling around an imaginary world and block letters asking the audience to ‘Sing!’ and then ‘Louder’!”

If you’re at all curious to see Ed Sheeran do his thing live onstage, then you still have a few chances left to check him out. Swing by the singer’s official website for more information on his North American tour.

[Lead image via Bing]