2023 has been dominated by Taylor Swift and her “Eras” tour. Beyonce and the Jonas Brothers are embarking on similar tours that are excuses to play a jukebox variety of their greatest hits. The forgotten one seems to be Ed Sheeran, who, sorry Swifties, is the best of the bunch.

His own opening act

Walking into FedEx Field on June 24, the sound of a crowd roaring hit my ears. I was already having a heart attack as I thought the show began at 7, meaning the opening acts — one of which was Khalid — would be hitting the stage then and Sheeran would be taking the stage at 8 or 9.

However, who else would be getting this type of applause? No offense, but neither Rosa Linn nor Khalid will garner this type of response for taking the stage. This thought was racing through my mind as a familiar British accent came over the loudspeakers.

At this point, I was freaking out internally. As my girlfriend and I rushed into the stadium, the fear of her resentment and disappointment overtook me. This was the one concert I couldn't be late to.

But oddly enough, I had some comfort in the thought that perhaps they were playing Sheeran's music on the speakers. After all, this was a tactic I've seen Paul McCartney use, and U2 typically plays the likes of Patti Smith, Noel Gallagher, and more on the PA system ahead of them taking the stage. Maybe Sheeran wanted to play “Boat” before he took the stage! Bear in mind, no one, and I mean no one, was rushing into the stadium. If the main act was taking the stage, wouldn't people want to hear him? Apparently not, as the merch line that was outside the stadium remained still. It was an odd sight, to say the least.

Once we got inside and through security checkpoints, we took a hard right. Our seats were in section 110, but as we were running through the concourse — I thought I was the New Yorker in this relationship, but my girlfriend was weaving through people like prime Le'Veon Bell — I noticed that the 130s and 120s passed by as we made the long way around FedEx Field.

We finally got to section 110 and made our way to our row. At this point, it was clear that Sheeran was on the stage. He was singing “Boat” as we entered the stadium and made his way through “Salt Water” by the time we got to our seats. Upon walking down to our seats, we were greeted with a strange sight: everyone was sitting down.

Now, I'm no dancer as my girlfriend can attest to, but I knew that even if we missed a portion of the set, we couldn't be that far into the set that people would be sitting down. Even the fans in attendance to see Paul McCartney last year — a demographic with a median of 65 — stood for most of the show.

In an effort to not stand out like sore thumbs, we sat down and took in the show. I was still nervous, assuring my girlfriend I'd take her to another show with tears about to come out of my eyes (according to my girlfriend). Between each song, Sheeran would make the only joke he cracked the entire night: he'd introduce himself and say something to the effect of “Please check me out on MySpace.” He also kept mentioning being his own opening act for the night. Suffice to say, I was confused.

As it turns out, Khalid had gotten into an accident. Instead of leaving the fans with an hour between Rosa Linn and his own set, Sheeran decided to play an extra set with songs that wouldn't have made it to the main set (all of the songs were from Subtract). After wrapping up “No Strings,” he promised to return after a break for the main show — that is after he switched from a white T-shirt into a black one — and my nerves were calmed.

Changing ‘Tides' into the main set

45 minutes later, Sheeran returned with a roaring rendition of “Tides.” While initially not one of my favorites, the opening track from Equals has quickly become one of my favorite tracks from Sheeran's catalog. It's a rock anthem unlike any of his other tracks, and the perfect opener to his set. This kicked into “Blow,” a song I adamantly did not like from his No. 6 Collaborations Project, which rocked with Sheeran singing the entire song.

The rest of the set was a beautiful balance of Sheeran's hits from his back catalog. I guess this feels obvious given the tour's name, the “Mathematics” tour, but it's never as pretentious as something like “The Tour” or the “Eras” tour seems. No shade against Swift, but a three-hour set that's jam-packed is certainly ambitious, if not slightly exhausting to even think about.

Sheeran, on the other hand, plays a set a little over two hours long. In that time, though, he gets everything in there from “The A-Team” to “Love Yourself” — which I learned he wrote during this concert (he may teach mathematics, but he also teaches history throughout his show).

Admittedly, for as much of a Sheeran fan as I've become in the month since this show, I fell into the “I've heard this song” category more often than I did the “I know this song” throughout the show. The beat of “Sing” sounded familiar, and I'd heard “Beautiful People” before, but more often than not I was smiling while my girlfriend would be dancing and singing every word.

A ‘Perfect' segment

Late in the set, Sheeran said something to the effect of, “Now onto the songs that even your grandmother knows.” That's when he segued into a segment of the show that consisted of “Thinking Out Loud,” “Photograph” (my introduction to Sheeran nearly a decade ago), and “Perfect.”

It was during the latter when I was swaying with my girlfriend in my arms that I realized how special this moment was. Yes, “Perfect” is the most cliché love song of the 21st century, but if you looked around, nearly the entire stadium had their phones up, swaying along with the song. It was a true sky full of stars.

That's a special visual stemming from a special song — even the group behind me, who sat still for the entire show outside of this song, got up and danced. I can't say that in my entire lifetime have I seen such a special performance of a love song. It's a true testament to the effect of music.

During performances of “With or Without You” on the 2017 “Joshua Tree” tour, I remember Bono saying something like “These songs are yours now” — something similar to what Sheeran has said during some performances. Songwriters write songs for people and things in their own life,  but a good song can translate to anyone who listens. “Perfect” has probably been used at a million weddings since its release a half-decade ago and will continue to be used for years to come.

There's also the technical aspect of an Ed Sheeran show. Very few artists — especially in the pop sphere — make real music (sorry, not sorry). Sheeran definitely has more traditional rock roots in him, and hearing him construct two-thirds of the set with his loop pedal shows off his artistry. Other guitarists have used loop pedals in concerts before — Phil Keaggy is a great example of that — but considering that Sheeran is stripping a song like “Shivers” down to an acoustic guitar and keyboard while still retaining its identity is what puts him over the top. Ditto for “Galway Girl,” during which he brought a fiddler on the stage which tied the performance together perfectly.

Even on songs that aren't recreated from the ground up, Sheeran would stand on the spinning stage with his 3/4 size guitar and sing. This made the concert, which took place on a stage similar to that of U2's “360” tour stage, feel intimate. In both cases, the acts found a way to have a spectacle that balanced the music being played. The 110 section was a decent view, but it certainly wasn't as close as those on the floor were. That said, you could still see the ginger hair spin around the stage and you still felt connected. To emphasize, Sheeran's shows are stadium shows. You can make arena shows feel intimate as U2 has done time and time again, but to do that in front of audiences ranging from 60,000-90,000 on a given night is another beast.

He closed out the night with a performance of “Bad Habits,” which rocked the stadium to the point it felt like it was shaking. In the month that passed, it hit me just how special this show was. No, Ed Sheeran probably won't top U2 as the greatest live act ever, but in terms of the new age acts that largely favor spectacle over music, he's by far the best live act touring.