For the first time ever, Ed Sheeran will perform shows in his hometown of Ipswich, Suffolk, England, in support of his new album, Play.

He announced a special weekend of shows on social media. Sheeran will perform three Play-centric shows at Portman Road — home of Ipswich Town — to launch his album from July 11-13, 2025. It is a full circle moment as one of his first concerts was seeing Elton John with James Blunt at Portman Road. Now, Blunt returns as the opener of the third and final show.

“One of the first-ever concerts I went to as a kid was at Ipswich Town Portman Road to see Elton John,” Sheeran recalled. “James Blunt opened for him, and I got obsessed with James' music; it really shaped me as a singer-songwriter from then on. I started doing shows around Ipswich as a young teenager, in pubs and bars, then moved to London to ‘make it’ because that’s what you did back then.”

The rest is history for Sheeran, whose popularity rapidly grew. As a result, he has never been able to return home to play shows. He has been talking with Ipswich since 2019 after his Divide Tour to organize something there. Due to their “rigid” schedule and his touring life, it never worked out until over a half-decade later.

Sheeran's upcoming hometown shows will be special. They sound like they will be different from his usual gigs. The shows will likely provide fans the first chance to hear songs from his Play album that are yet to be released.

How to get tickets

Ed Sheeran performing on the 'Divide' tour.
Michael Sears / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Fans who pre-order Play from his store by 3 pm BST on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, will have access to a pre-sale. The pre-sale will begin on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at 10 am BST. The general sale begins at 10 am BST on Friday, May 9.

“These tickets will go very, very quickly[,] so please make sure you sign up early if you wanna come,” he warned in the announcement. “I can't wait to do these shows, it'll be a weekend I'll remember for the rest of my life. See you there gang x.”

Ed Sheeran's Ipswich Play show dates

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The three shows will take place over the weekend of July 11-13. Sheeran will be in the midst of his final European Mathematics Tour leg at the time of the shows. He will have just performed in Hamburg, Germany, from July 4-6. His next tour show is not until July 26, 2025, in Olso, Norway.

Per Ed Sheeran HQ's announcement on X, formerly Twitter, Sheeran will have three sets of openers for his shows. Blunt, Maisie Peters, and Tori Kelly will be joining him for the special shows. Below is the full list of openers for the shows.

Friday, July 11

  • Myles Smith
  • Tori Kelly

Saturday, July 12

  • Busted
  • Dylan

Sunday, July 13

  • James Blunt
  • Maisie Peters