Ed Sheeran gave concertgoers more of his music on Saturday, as he did a surprise opening set himself after his initial opener, Khalid, was in a car accident.
Sheeran — who revealed the news about the 25-year-old supporting act — stepped in to perform a number of songs off his - (Subtract) album that aren’t typically in set lists for his touring stadium show, Billboard reported.
The Shape Of You singer revealed on Instagram that Khalid “was not seriously hurt” in the wreck.
“He is recovering and we wish him the best,” Sheeran said at the Saturday concert at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.
Khalid’s representatives weren’t immediately available for comment.
Sheeran remarked that he hasn’t opened for anyone since doing so for The Rolling Stones in 2015, and he spliced “a lot of humour” into the set in a move that showed he did not want to “let down everybody” at the concert, according to one Twitter user who shared visuals from the show.
“I’m going to say this after every song because if people don’t know I was going to be the opening act today, people are going to be walking in being like, ‘This show isn’t what I thought it was. I thought there would be more fireworks,’” Sheeran said.
The 30-minute acoustic set also included a heartfelt element as Sheeran performed Sycamore, an ode to his wife who was diagnosed with cancer, People noted.
In one TikTok video, Sheeran said it was awesome he got to see the audience during the set as his headlining performances are usually done in the dark.
“This is pretty fun. I kind of feel like when you’re the main act, there’s a bunch of pressure because people have paid to see you but I feel like when you’re the opening act, you’re sort of like, ‘Let’s have fun. Let’s play songs,’” said Sheeran, before he quipped that he used to have a MySpace page when he opened for artists as a teenager.