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Ed Sheeran performed in Atlanta on Saturday night with a surprise 'special guest' joining him amid the controversy surrounding Macklemore's removal from his tour over his outspoken support for Palestine.
After the rest of his opening acts dropped out of his ongoing Loop Tour, Sheeran invited former The Fray frontman Isaac Slade to open for him.
This comes after a string of shows where Sheeran, 35, was left alone on the bill as he continues the North American leg of his stadium tour amid major public pushback.
Just hours prior to his show at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, his official social media account revealed a 'special guest' would be joining Sheeran onstage.
According to numerous eyewitness accounts shared via social media, it was confirmed that Slade, 45, performed an abbreviated opening set on Saturday.
Slade previously made surprise guest appearances at Sheeran's shows and joined him onstage in Toronto back in late August for a duet of the rock band's 2005 hit song How to Save a Life.
Ed Sheeran, 35, performed in Atlanta on Saturday night and was joined by a 'special guest' amid the controversy of dropping Macklemore from his tour; pictured in December 2025
After the rest of his opening acts dropped out of his ongoing Loop Tour, Sheeran invited former The Fray frontman Isaac Slade (pictured) to open for him
This weekend, Slade performed the same track again as part of his opening set and also sang another The Fray hit, You Found Me.
In between the two songs, he reportedly gushed to concertgoers and told the audience of Sheeran's fans that he was 'honored to be here.'
The musician told the crowd: 'Everybody seems to be taking sides in this world and that's good.'
'What's happening over there is wrong but if we're going to get through it, we're going to need people to step into that middle place, that common ground,' he continued.
'That bonfire in the middle of the field that sees both sides, that understands that peace is not a lack of conflict,' he added as he appeared to show his support for Sheeran amid the controversy. 'Peace is not a black canvas that we need to guard and be polite.'
He said that peace 'holds enough beauty, enough tragedy, enough sorrow, enough joy and life if we learn how to integrate it and hold each other in balance.'
Slade concluded his mini-speech by adding: 'We will find a way through this together.'
In recent weeks, Sheeran's stadium tour was at the center of a massive controversy and the Irish singer saw his supporting acts - Finneas, Lukas Graham and backing band Beoga - quit after kicking Macklemore off of the opening act lineup.
Just hours prior to his show at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, his official social media account revealed a 'special guest' would be joining Sheeran onstage; pictured in January
This comes after a string of shows where Sheeran was left alone on the bill as he continues the North American leg of his stadium tour amid major public pushback; pictured in September 2025
Slade previously made surprise guest appearances at Sheeran's shows and joined him onstage in Toronto back in late August for a duet of the rock band's 2005 hit song How to Save a Life
In between two songs, Slade told Sheeran's fans that he was 'honored to be here.' He also gave a short speech, seemingly defending Sheeran; pictured in November 2019
Last month, Macklemore performed at two shows on Sheeran's The Loop Tour and sparked polarizing reactions when he gave a 'Free Palestine' speech and performed his protest song Hind's Hall.
Subsequently, stadium owners like Robert Kraft allegedly threatened to cancel and shut down Sheeran's following shows if Macklemore was kept as Sheeran's opening act.
The shows at Gillette Stadium, one of multiple venues owned by Kraft, were eventually canceled due to weather concerns anyway.
After each side shared their own personal statements via social media, Sheeran continued to receive backlash and apologized while performing in Philadelphia on September 19.
He said he had been 'making mistakes' and was 'so, so sorry' for the drama and related events.
'This has put me in the middle of an important, passionate argument about freedom of speech on the most complex issue on the planet,' he said as he got emotional at one point during his show that day sans opening acts.
He said he 'always' intended for his music to create a 'safe space for everybody.'
'That matters hugely to me,' he told concert attendees on that day.
In recent weeks, Sheeran's stadium tour was at the center of a massive controversy and the Irish singer saw his supporting acts — Finneas, Lukas Graham and backing band Beoga — quit after kicking Macklemore off of the opening act lineup; pictured in September 2014
Last month, Macklemore performed at two shows on Sheeran's The Loop Tour and sparked polarizing reactions when he gave a 'Free Palestine' speech and performed his protest song Hind's Hall; pictured in August
Since then, Sheeran has been continuing his tour as the lone headlining act on the bill. And his show at Robert Kraft's Gillette Stadium was canceled anyway; pictured in April 2023
'Honoring my commitment to my fans is also completely essential to who I am. That is why I'm here tonight, on my own, continuing my own tour.'
He also said he was 'deeply' worried about freedom of speech being encumbered. 'It should never happen in the free world.'
Up next, Sheeran will be continuing to take his Loop Tour across the United States before wrapping in Tampa, Florida in early November.
He will then be kicking off a short leg across Latin America before concluding his world tour in Mexico City on December 11.
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