Ed Sheeran continues his late-best friend’s legacy
Music behemoth, Ed Sheeran, opened the Mojave Stage on Saturday at this year’s Coachella. I was surprised to see Ed play that slot on that stage, have Sam Fender follow him (who I love, no shade to Sam), and discover it was his first Coachella performance. However, I was content it just being ‘one of those things’ and I was willing to accept that perhaps my assumptions overstated the extent Ed had “broke America.”
About a month later, BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend kicked off. Over the years it’s had major headliners and acts. During my 2012 & 2016 attendances, I saw Rihanna, Tame Impala, Lana Del Rey, and many more. Without doubt, Ed is headline-calibre, and is more well-known than the three who headlined this year.
By end of play on Friday, no one knew Ed was going to step out for the ‘Surprise Act’ slot to open main stage proceedings on Saturday. He was once again playing ‘warm-up act’ to Sam Fender who headlined Saturday (his most prestigious slot to date).
It’s clear that Ed could have headlined—particularly as he hasn’t to date, whereas Mumford & Sons had already headlined in 2016—yet I got the feeling he wanted to let the young guns shine, emulating what his late-best friend Jamal Edwards, SBTV Founder, who passed away in 2022, had done for him and countless others.
These events don’t seem to be anomalies. In the wake of Jamal’s passing, Ed has done his bit to support SBTV, including a heartfelt performance commemorating Jamal and a throwback F64-style track with Devlin. (Devlin let Ed sleep on his couch during their early grind; Devlin was another young gun that Jamal elevated through SBTV.)
Ed Sheeran and JME did a surprise live set with DJ AG in Sheffield city centre on May 18. Ed highlighted how Sheffield was one of the first places to support him and show him love. He used the set to give exposure to TRACKS, a youth music charity in Sheffield supported by the Ed Sheeran Foundation—several members jumped on the mic. The set embodied a similar energy to early SBTV, and like in those days, Ed did some rapping.
Ed’s not supporting groups like TRACKS to be able to boast or virtue signal about it; it is a genuine desire to make room for and elevate the young guns.
I view Ed’s actions more like those who give privately to causes—which tends to imply they are doing for the ‘right reasons’—rather than those that give to gain power, recognition, or moral virtue.
After what seems like an eternity of being bludgeoned by performative compassion and empathy, and the tyranny of intolerant tolerance, Ed’s behaviour is refreshing and disarming.
It resonates more so because Ed isn’t perfect and doesn’t parade around like a paragon of virtue; he knows he’s had a rough patch or two, but he came through, and I’d argue, perhaps for the better.
Jamal’s passing clearly deeply impacted Ed and countless others. I wonder whether this spurred Ed to emulate and continue his late-best friend’s legacy. If so, he seems to be making a good start.
As DJ AG spontaneously says to the TikTok livestream in the aforementioned set:
“There’s a lot of influencers that are out there, but listen, see this man—the true definition of an influencer—absolute megastar. [Ed] doesn’t have to be here; doesn’t have to spend his bread on the [Ed Sheeran] Foundation or anything else; he’s putting it back into music.”