Screaming fans, overpriced merchandise, a sold out arena, and a red-headed singer from England: this is what one would have experienced as Ed Sheeran gave a stellar performance to a crowd of about ten thousand on his stop at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut for his Multiply tour June 6.  The 24-year-old singer had success in 2011 as his song “A Team” sparked in the United States, giving recognition to his name along with his debut album Plus.

The concert began with the opener, Foy Vance. The Northern Irish musician has travelled with Ed Sheeran on prior tours. With only his guitar and a drummer, he played tracks from his various albums. He caught the audience’s attention as he played his song, “Shed a Little Light,” and asked for the crowd to turn on their flashlights.  Although he is famous in the United Kingdom, Vance still hasn’t received much attention in America.

Ed Sheeran finally stepped onto the stage an hour later with his loop pedal, guitar, and microphone. The audience cheered as the tune to his hit “I’m a Mess” began.  An amazing light show commenced and continued to fit with every song.  Throughout the show, the screen behind him played his music videos and outstanding artwork.

An amazing factor of the show was when Sheeran played covers of various famous songs and mixed them into his own. He combined his song “Don’t” along with “No Diggity,” by Blackstreet, and Chris Brown’s track, “Loyal.”  Sheeran also incorporated Stevie Wonder’s hit, “Superstition,” and Bill Wither’s song, “Ain’t no Sunshine,” into his own track known as “Take it Back.”

At one point during the concert, Sheeran asked half of the crowd to sing the melody and the other half to sing the harmony of his track “I See Fire”. This was a cool interaction that Sheeran gave to the fans because usually he would ask the crowd to be in silence as he often performs without any microphone or amplifier.

Compared to the studio versions of Sheeran’s songs, hearing him live was more powerful and the way he played was extremely rich with energy. It’s astonishing to think that a man with only a guitar and a looper can produce sounds that will amplify the whole arena. One song in particular called “Give Me Love,” from his previous album Plus, gave the crowd chills as he pounded on his guitar creating drum beats while harmonizing to the guitar’s rhythm. “Give Me Love” was played before the encore, which would have been a great send off for the crowd. However, beforehand, he played “A Team,” which is his most famous song. The crowd screamed and sang with joy as they heard the familiar guitar lick of the song.

To finish off the show, Sheeran came back to perform “You Need me, I Don’t Need You,” which is another hit from his previous album, Plus.  This encore featured his own take on 50 Cent’s “In Da Club,” along with “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea.  Of course, the show concluded with Sheeran’s most current hit, “Sing.”  He got the crowd started by asking them to sing the harmony.  As he walked offstage, Sheeran made sure the crowd was still continuing the harmony, concluding an outstanding performance.

On top of being a talented singer and songwriter, Ed Sheeran is also a great performer. The Multiply Tour was truly an amazing experience.  As he is only 24 years old, it is exciting to find out what the future holds for this British singer. We’ll just have to see.