Ed Sheeran Taps Isaac Slade for Surprise Atlanta Set
Ed Sheeran brought a surprise guest to his Atlanta concert on Saturday, October 3, 2026: Isaac Slade, the former frontman of The Fray, who performed a short opening set at Mercedes-Benz Stadium before Sheeran’s headline performance. Slade stepped in after Sheeran’s tour openers quit in solidarity with Macklemore, who was removed from the Loop Tour last month. Slade played Fray hits including “How to Save a Life” and “You Found Me,” and addressed the tour’s ongoing controversy from the stage.
Why did Ed Sheeran need a surprise guest opener?
Sheeran’s Loop Tour has been running without a traditional opening act at several recent shows. The opening slots emptied out after Macklemore was dropped from the tour last month. Macklemore had played two Loop Tour shows at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, where he shouted “Free Palestine” on stage and performed his protest song “Hind’s Hall,” wearing a black-and-white keffiyeh.
Days later, Macklemore was removed from the tour after Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft and other venues reportedly threatened to cancel upcoming shows featuring the rapper. In response, Finneas, Lukas Graham, and the backing band Beoga all quit the tour in solidarity with Macklemore, according to multiple reports.
Sheeran addressed the situation directly during his September 19 show at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, telling fans he had been “making mistakes” and was “so, so sorry” for how the situation unfolded. “This has put me in the middle of an important, passionate argument about freedom of speech on the most complex issue on the planet,” he told the crowd. “[My music] has always been a safe space for everyone. That matters hugely to me.”
Who is Isaac Slade and what did he play in Atlanta?
Slade, 45, co-founded The Fray and led the Denver band through its biggest era before leaving in 2022 to focus on his mental health after a series of onstage panic attacks. He launched his first solo tour in December 2025.
His identity as the “special guest” wasn’t announced in advance — Mercedes-Benz Stadium teased it only in a “Know Before You Go” Instagram post listing an unnamed guest before Sheeran’s 8 p.m. performance. Onstage in Atlanta, Slade played an abbreviated set of Fray favorites, including “How to Save a Life” — certified Diamond by the RIAA at 11 times platinum — and “You Found Me,” which sits at 7 times platinum.
Slade also spoke to the controversy surrounding the tour, telling the crowd: “Everybody seems to be taking sides in this world and that’s good.” He called what’s happening in Gaza “wrong” and said getting through it means “we’re going to need people to step into that middle place, that common ground,” adding: “We will find a way through this together.”
What’s the history between Ed Sheeran and Isaac Slade?
This wasn’t the first time the two musicians shared a stage. In August 2026, Slade joined Sheeran during a Loop Tour concert in Toronto, where they performed “How to Save a Life” together — with Beoga playing on it, the same band that quit the tour weeks later.
Sheeran has spoken about The Fray’s influence on his early career, and before bringing Slade out in Atlanta, he told the crowd he had long been a fan of Slade’s “music, his songwriting,” calling it part of his “formative years as a teenager.” For fans, the pairing was a nostalgic full-circle moment: a 2000s rock frontman opening for one of the biggest pop acts of the 2010s.
Slade’s return to a big stage also marks a personal milestone. He has spoken openly about the panic attacks that forced him to step back from touring life with The Fray, and his solo comeback — which began with a first solo tour in December 2025 — has been framed around performing on his own terms. A surprise stadium appearance in front of tens of thousands of Sheeran fans is one of his biggest stages since.
How are fans reacting to the surprise?
Clips of Slade’s set and his onstage remarks circulated widely on social media within hours of the Atlanta show, driving the story up entertainment news feeds overnight. For many fans, the moment landed on two levels: nostalgia for The Fray’s mid-2000s peak, when “How to Save a Life” became one of the defining songs of its era, and relief that Sheeran’s tour finally had an opener again after weeks of stripped-back bills.
The move also reads as a careful one for Sheeran. Rather than rushing to fill the vacant support slots with a single permanent opener, he has kept things flexible — and bringing out a veteran musician he personally admires, framed as a one-night “special guest,” avoids turning the replacement into a political statement of its own. Slade’s middle-ground message about peace and common ground echoed the tone Sheeran himself struck in Philadelphia: apologetic, conciliatory, and focused on keeping his shows a “safe space for everyone.”
What’s next for the Loop Tour?
The US leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour is scheduled to wrap on November 7 at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. The tour then heads to Latin America before ending on December 11 at Mexico City’s Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes.
Whether Slade appears as a guest at more dates hasn’t been announced. Meanwhile, the controversy that reshaped the tour’s lineup continues to echo — country star Zach Bryan wore a “Free Palestine” shirt during his own concert at Robert Kraft’s Gillette Stadium on Friday night, a moment BuzzCapitol covered separately (read our full story here). For live music fans, this week’s concerts also delivered other standout moments, including Taylor Momsen’s Soundgarden tribute (full coverage).
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Ed Sheeran’s openers quit the Loop Tour?
Finneas, Lukas Graham, and the backing band Beoga quit in solidarity with Macklemore, who was removed from the tour after performing pro-Palestine statements on stage at two New Jersey shows in September.
When did Isaac Slade surprise fans at Ed Sheeran’s concert?
Slade appeared as the unannounced “special guest” opener at Sheeran’s Atlanta concert at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, October 3, 2026, performing Fray hits “How to Save a Life” and “You Found Me.”
Did Isaac Slade leave The Fray?
Yes. Slade left The Fray in 2022 to focus on his mental health after experiencing onstage panic attacks. He launched his first solo tour in December 2025.
When does Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour end?
The US leg wraps November 7, 2026, at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, and the full tour ends December 11, 2026, in Mexico City.
Sources
