Ed Sheeran Unites Music Lovers in Tampa – Divide Tour 2018

Ed Sheeran’s lyrical genius and guitar riffs can’t be contained inside a building, so he simply embarked on a stadium tour to promote his album, Divide. My friend Audrey and I saw Ed Sheeran play at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL on his second-to-last night of his U.S. stop on the tour. It was worth the drive, worth the time, and worth the sleepless work night (cue the gasps).

Before the Concert

I drove to Tampa to meet my friend Audrey. It felt like we were skipping school or something.

I picked her up when she got out of work, and we drove to a nearby diner. We had breakfast for dinner (woo hoo!), which was the perfect fuel before the concert. And then she guided me through her town to Raymond James Stadium.

This was only my second time driving on my own to Tampa, so I needed a little help! The first time around, we met for dinner, and then I went to see The Minimalists on their Less Is Now tour at the Straz Center – a great, intimate venue.

We purchased pre-parking passes for the concert, so we parked at a nearby lot, and then walked about 5-10 minutes to the stadium.

 

 

As we walked over, we noticed a LONG line of families…they were waiting to purchase a locker to store their oversized bags during the concert. Luckily Audrey and I came prepared with our tiny clutch and crossbody bags.

I usually check venue websites to see if I can bring my Canon DSLR camera (most of the time I can’t), and I checked the bag policy while I was on the Raymond James Stadium website.

I strongly recommend checking the bag policy before you attend any event so you don’t have to worry about walking all the way back to your car, or waiting in line to reserve a locker. Most venues are very strict now, only accepting clear bags and small bags that meet certain dimension requirements.

Opening Acts

LAUV, best known for his single “I Like Me Better,” opened the show with five songs. He kept his set simple with a keyboard and microphone. The crowd went crazy when LAUV sang “I Like Me Better,” and then Audrey and I left our seats to check out the Ed Sheeran merchandise.

Alternative music veterans Snow Patrol played a good nine-song set, closing with the famous “Chasing Cars.”

The roles were reversed just six years ago when Ed Sheeran opened for Snow Patrol in spring 2012. Snow Patrol mentioned being good pals (er, mates?) with Ed for many years. They seemed excited to be there!

 

 

Ed Sheeran: One-Man Band

Somehow, I had completely forgotten that Ed Sheeran is a one-man band. WOW! I first heard Ed Sheeran when a little ole song called “The A Team,” and I saw Ed Sheeran when he opened for Taylor Swift on her RED Tour in 2012. He sounded great then, and they even played their duet, “Everything Has Changed.”

 

 

This time, when the lights went down and the big concert screens lit up, we saw Ed Sheeran smiling with his guitar strapped around his body. We heard him playing a familiar intro to the song, “Castle on the Hill,” walking through a tunnel, and eventually walking onto the stage.

I admittedly never liked that song since it always aired on the radio, but man did I dance as soon as he started playing. There’s something about hearing a song live versus hearing it played a million times on the radio.

An intimate, stadium show

Ed Sheeran cracked some jokes throughout the night. He played for a good two hours straight, taking brief water breaks in between songs. At one point, he gave a shoutout to the men in the crowd. He said there are two types of guys in the crowd: the super dad, and the boyfriend.

The super dad drives his daughter to the concert and supports her throughout the show, nodding his head along with the music. By the end of the show, the super dad will be standing up and dancing to the music.

The boyfriend is also supportive, but he’s more interested in hanging out somewhere other than in the crowd. He might dilly-dally in line at the “loo,” as Ed put it, striking up a conversation with another supportive boyfriend. They’ll chat about how they don’t really need to use the restroom, but they’re getting some fresh air away from the concert.

 

 

It was a beautiful night. A little warm outside, but the open air felt amazing, and we could see the stars above us and the lights below us. Ed Sheeran owned the stage with him, his guitar, and his loop station. Even though this was a stadium show, Ed Sheeran made it feel like an intimate show.

It was quiet enough for Ed to shout across the crowd without a microphone, and we could hear him clear as day. His guitar sounded crisp, and he kept playing with more and more energy as the night went on.

Highlights of the night

I peeked at the Divided Tour setlist to see what songs Ed Sheeran might play. Welp, he shattered that and played some new songs in a different order. It’s better to be surprised anyway.

I loved his mashup of “Don’t” and “New Man” – it flowed nicely, and these are both cheeky songs that go well together. In the middle of the set, Ed played Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself.” He opened it by telling us he wrote this song on a tour bus in Florida!

“Bloodstream,” a moody song with a soulful tone, was another highlight of the night. Later on, Ed Sheeran turned “Photograph” into an eight-minute song by building up the song again, repeatedly singing, “Hearing you whisper through the phone, wait for me to come home,” building the backing guitar and letting the crowd finish the song.

 

 

My friend Audrey and I think someone proposed during “Thinking Out Loud” because people were randomly cheering really loudly nearby. I may have cried during “Perfect,” but maybe there was just something going on with the air…

Ed Sheeran closed the show with two encore songs. “Shape of You” was amazing, of course. Even though we knew the end was near, everyone got up, jumped around, danced, and sang like the show just started.

Ed Sheeran closed the show wearing a Tampa Bay Bucs jersey, singing “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You,”

Ed Sheeran Tampa Setlist, 11/7/18

• Castle on the Hill
• Eraser
• The A Team
• Mashup: Don’t / New Man
• Dive
• Bloodstream
• Happier
• Supermarket Flowers
• Galway Girl
• Love Yourself (Justin Bieber cover)
• Mashup: Lego House / Kiss Me / Give Me Love / All of the Stars / Tenerife Sea
• Thinking Out Loud
• Photograph
• Perfect
• Nancy Mulligan
• Sing
• Encore:
• Shape of You
• You Need Me, I Don’t Need You

 

 

Share Your Concert Experiences

Have you been to an Ed Sheeran concert? Is there another artist you saw perform live that really inspired you? Let me know in the comments below! I’d love to hear about your concert experiences.