There are big gigs… and then there are the “call your mum afterwards because you’ve just seen something special” gigs. Saturday night at Optus Stadium was absolutely the latter. Perth turned it on with a warm night, a mild breeze, and 55,000+ punters ready to be emotionally steamrolled by a red-headed genius armed with nothing but a loop pedal and a ridiculously massive LED screen.
But before Ed Sheeran hit the stage, we were treated to not one, but two world-class warm-ups.
Mia Wray – The Spark That Lit the Fuse
Opening the night was Melbourne’s very own Mia Wray, who took the stage with the kind of infectious energy that makes you instantly think, “Yep… new fan unlocked.” She spoke about her journey, the grind, and her first ever cover being none other than Ed’s “The A Team” — talk about foreshadowing.
Her performance was warm, raw and beautifully human.
“Monster Brain” hit hard — a mental health anthem wrapped in soulful vocals — and her take on “There She Goes” was the perfect mix of nostalgia and freshness. She was a brilliant opener… like the musical equivalent of finding a Macca’s chip at the bottom of the bag.
Vance Joy – The Veteran Charmer
Then entered Vance Joy — the curly-haired crowd charmer with a band tighter than my jeans after Christmas. The whole stadium instantly lifted another notch. He rolled through hit after hit: “Devil’s Work,” “Georgia,” “Lay It On Me,” and of course the national anthem of indie-pop singalongs, “Riptide.” Thirty seconds into that one and half the stadium had become a choir.
Then, out of nowhere, the man cracks out a KISS cover — and didn’t that go off. The crowd absolutely lost it. It was the perfect cheeky handover to the main event.
Ed Sheeran – A One-Man Supernova
When the giant LED screen lit up with Ed’s intro, the stadium erupted.
Then came the moment we all secretly live for: the retractable bridge delivering Ed to a centre-stage setup like some kind of messiah. If that doesn’t scream “unnecessarily cool but absolutely needed,” I don’t know what does.
What followed was nothing short of surreal — one bloke, one loop station, and 55,000+ people hanging on every single note. Ed reminded us exactly why he’s one of the most loved artists on the planet. Humble. Down-to-earth. Funny. A storyteller with scars and wisdom he’s not afraid to share.
He opened up about heartbreak, court cases, a lost phone, and the death of a lifelong friend. Then he rewound the clock to 2012, talking about family trips to Australia and why this country means so much to him. It felt personal — not scripted. Like he was chatting to all of us at once.
The Music, the Memories, the Mayhem
The light show, pyro and fireworks were perfectly aligned with each beat — not overdone, just pure spectacle. He performed like a bloke running a marathon fuelled entirely by adrenaline and gratitude. No one in that stadium could complain about set length — the man went hard.
Standouts?…….… too many. But here’s my hit list:
“Sapphire” – criminally underrated, and stunning live.
“The A Team” – full circle moment after Mia’s earlier nod.
“American Town” – hilarious after Ed told us that he quietly practiced the lyrics before the show.
“Afire Love” – the emotional wrecking ball about his grandfather… raw, honest, and deeply moving.
“Galway Girl” – the Irish contingent nearly punched a hole through the roof (if the stadium had one lol).
“Old Phone” – painfully relatable for every person who’s turned it off and lost it with all those non ended conversations.
And then the big ticket songs: “Bloodstream,” “Shape of You,” “Bad Habits.”
Absolute stadium slammers. He even took QR-code requests — genius way to give the fans exactly what they want and keep the night unique.
Final Verdict
I walked out with – no voice, sore legs from jumping like a kid on red cordial and a smile big enough to be seen from space.
That’s the winning formula for a perfect night out.
To Australia: strap in.……………….The LOOP Tour is coming — and it’s bloody unbelievable. MASSIVE THANK YOU to Frontier Touring for the Access and Mark Surridge for the supplied images.
For remaining tickets (if you are lucky) hit the link below
https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/ed-sheeran-tickets/artist/1560779
