Ed Sheeran Joined By First ‘Special Guest’ Since Opening Acts Dropped Out - Newsweek

Ed Sheeran brought former The Fray frontman Isaac Slade on as a surprise opener at his Atlanta Loop Tour show on October 3.

Slade is the first guest performer to appear after several opening acts left the tour following the controversy surrounding Macklemore's removal.

Newsweek reached out to Slade and Sheeran's representatives via email for comment on Sunday.

Macklemore was dropped after performing "Hind's Hall" and shouting "Free Palestine" during two Loop Tour shows at MetLife Stadium.

During his set, Slade addressed the war in Gaza and urged people to seek "common ground."

Fans arriving at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium were told only that a "special guest" would perform before Sheeran's headlining set. That guest was later revealed to be Slade.

Slade played a short set featuring some of the band's best-known songs, including "How to Save a Life" and "You Found Me." He told the crowd he was "honored to be here" before addressing broader global events from the stage.

Speaking about the war in Gaza, Slade said people needed to find a "middle place," arguing that lasting peace requires understanding differing perspectives.

“Peace is not a blank canvas that we need to guard and be polite,” he told the crowd. “[Peace] holds enough beauty, enough tragedy, enough sorrow, enough joy and life if we learn how to integrate it and hold each other in balance. We will find a way through this together.”

The appearance was not the first link between the two musicians. Slade joined Sheeran during a Toronto tour stop in August, and Sheeran has previously cited The Fray as an influence on his early songwriting.

After leaving The Fray in 2022 to focus on his mental health following onstage panic attacks, Slade launched a solo career and began touring under his own name.

Last month, Macklemore was removed from the tour, and several supporting artists—including Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and members of backing band Beoga—subsequently exited scheduled appearances.

Those departures left Sheeran appearing alone at several stops as debate over the decision continued online and among fans.

Macklemore publicly addressed his removal in a statement posted after the decision was announced. The rapper said that Sheeran and his team chose to remove him from the tour but stressed that neither artist should be considered a victim of the dispute.

"We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world," Macklemore wrote. "Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families."

During a Philadelphia concert on September 19, Sheeran addressed the controversy directly, telling fans he had been "making mistakes" and was "so, so sorry" for how the situation unfolded.

He said he had found himself caught in a wider debate over free speech and reiterated that he wanted his concerts to remain a welcoming space for all fans.

Podcast host Joe Rogan also weighed in on the debate surrounding Macklemore's comments during a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. Discussing the backlash on October 1, Rogan argued that critics had mischaracterized the rapper's remarks and said it was important to view them in full rather than through short clips circulating online.

The former Fear Factor host said he did not believe Macklemore's speech was anti-Semitic, pointing to portions in which the Grammy Award winner referred to "my Jewish brothers and sisters" while criticizing the war in Gaza.

He argued that Macklemore was speaking about what he viewed as a humanitarian crisis rather than expressing hostility toward Jewish people, adding that he believed future generations would look back on the conflict with horror.

The Atlanta show may offer an early indication of how Sheeran plans to handle the remainder of the tour. While several former support acts have stepped away, Slade's appearance demonstrates that at least some artists remain willing to join the singer on the road.

The U.S. leg of the Loop Tour is scheduled to conclude on November 7 in Tampa before continuing through Latin America and ending in Mexico City in December.

Update, 10/4/2026, 7:22 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Cristina Diciu.

Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.