Pop star Ed Sheeran serenades fans during Hy-Vee IndyCar weekend at Iowa Speedway
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Newton has the honor of being part of British pop superstar Ed Sheeran’s return to concerts in America after five years.
It also has the honor of having “proper heat,” forcing the ginger singer-songwriter clad in a white shirt to put on sunscreen. It was in the high 80s during Sheeran's set.
“I come from the United Kingdom. We’re not used to this weather. This the first time that I’ve put sun cream on on stage,” he said.
Sheeran rounded out the Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend concerts at the Iowa Speedway Sunday evening to a packed crowd, kicking off with 2017’s “Castle on the Hill” and 2021’s “Shivers.”
The four-time Grammy Award winner had the honor of waving the green flag during Sunday’s Hy-Vee One Step 250 race. He told the crowd that it was his first time witnessing an IndyCar race and said he “loved it.”
“I haven’t been to Iowa in, probably, about eight years, so it’s really, really nice to be back,” Sheeran said.
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Sheeran’s Des Moines fans can rest easy knowing the British star loves Des Moines, or at least he did in 2017 when he told Chicago radio station B96 WBBM-FM that he’s had some “really good experiences there,” the Des Moines Register reported that year.
While it’s just him, his guitar and keyboard on stage, everything is live. Sheeran explained to audiences Sunday evening that he uses a loop station controlled by his feet that records his sounds live as opposed to using a backing track.
And he proved that’s all you need to keep an audience excited and engaged for an over hourlong set — an audience he frequently prompted to sing, which they delivered. Sunday’s show included performances of “The A Team,” the song that launched Sheeran to widespread fame in 2011 and “Don’t,” which he riffed into Blackstreet’s hip-hop classic “No Diggity.”
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Sarah and Emily Stockdale, sisters from Burlington who traveled to the concert from Missouri, have been fans of Sheeran’s since “The A Team” and later introduced their father and stepmom to the artist.
“Then they took themselves to a concert, without us, and so we were pretty salty, which I think is why they got us these tickets,” Sarah and Emily said.
Their father and stepmom bragged about how great the show was, the sisters explained.
But everything worked out for the longtime Sheeran fans when their parents surprised them with tickets to Sunday’s show.
Similarly, Travis Sheets has been a fan since Sheeran’s “The A Team.”
Sheets and his wife, Jen, of Clive, were celebrating Sheets’ upcoming 43rd birthday Wednesday by seeing Sheeran perform, a birthday gift from his wife.
“I just love the guitar, the acoustic, the singer-songwriter vibe that he has,” Sheets said.
“If you came here today to watch the race and listen to my songs, you should know the words to this next song,” Sheeran said before launching into “Thinking Out Loud.”
“I hope you do. And if you don’t, make them up. Pretend. Just sing anything.”
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The 2014 song romantic song’s official music video has amassed 3.6 billion views on YouTube.
Sheeran has released chart-topping hits for more than a decade since his debut album, “+”, in 2011 like “Shape of You,” which held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2017 for 12 weeks. It was one of many songs Sheeran performed for Sunday’s crowd.
That same year, Sheeran was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire, an honor recognizing his services to music and charity, Reuters reported.
For all of the more up-tempo moments of Sheeran’s performance, there still were some slower instances.
Before romantic ballad “Perfect,” Sheeran encouraged the crowd to put their arms around the person they came with.
“I know that everyone here has come with someone that they love,” he said.
Earlier Sunday, nine-piece country act Zac Brown Band performed.
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Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at pbarraza@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Pop star Ed Sheeran performs top hits at Iowa Speedway
