Live Review: Ed Sheeran Loop Tour in Perth 2026
Ed Sheeran, Loop Tour on 31st January 2026 at Optus Stadium in Perth Western Australia
Review by Sheldon Ang
Photography: Mark Surridge (Supplied by Frontier Touring)
“You know… I was playing in pubs and clubs and literally no one wanted to hear me… and now we’ve played to over 20 million people over the last 15 years. And I don’t take it for granted, because I can still close my eyes and picture what it was like to play to no one…”
That will never happen again in Ed Sheeran’s lifetime, as over 55,000 pairs of eyes and ears in the world’s most isolated city were locked onto him. The former busker from Suffolk, UK, scorched Perth in the summer heat, launching the Australian leg of the Loop Tour to a sold-out audience. Optus Stadium has also been the colossal host of Ed Sheeran’s previous tours – the Divide Tour in 2018 and the Mathematics Tour in 2023 – underscoring the magnitude of his artistry.
Arguably, it was a festival, given the three support acts in Biird, Mia Wray and Vance Joy, adding to a five and half hour music celebration. But all eyes were on the man from Suffolk.
So at 8 pm, the lights dimmed to twilight, and a crash‑course on the Loop Tour was played on the big screen explaining his live setup. “This thing that you’re gonna see is my loop station… everything you see tonight is completely live… made on the spot, controlled by my feet, looped and layered. We press record like this; when we press play, it plays back. You can add layers, layers on top like that, and vocals. Now you’re gonna tell me this ain’t live. I just push and push, and I was so focused on seeing how far I could take it as an acoustic singer-songwriter from Suffolk.”
That was the only recorded bit of the show.
A synth build-up swelled, then dropped into acoustic warmth. Lights burst to life. Ed Sheeran rose from B Stage in the centre of the stadium, like standing on an island in a sea of people, and tens of thousands more filling the stands. It was a surprise entrance, with everyone’s eyes originally fixed on the main stage. He opened with You Don’t Need Me, I Need You. Expectedly, he tore into the guitar strings. With one loop pedal, Sheeran captured the riff, set it spinning, and stepped away to unleash his rapid-fire lyrics. It was a blitz, firing on all cylinders, redlining his hand strumming action.
He teased the crowd with every flick of movement and every guitar jab. Every time he let an acoustic solo ring out, the fans roared with approval. For casual listeners, the rapid pace was a pleasant surprise.
Halfway through the opener came an engineering marvel: an extendable bridge unfolded across from the main stage like a giant Lego arm, stretching across 50 metres of crowd to reach him. As he rapped, he sprinted across the bridge above a canopy of heads towards the main stage.
It was an introductory statement of ages…a mission statement…an executive summary of the Loop Tour’s Australian chapter, and one that will linger in Perth concert folklore. The crowd was involved, but Ed kept pushing for more of the two-way energy.
“So when the chorus comes for this one, I want everyone in the stadium to go Sapphire!”
The vibe shifted, but the buzz remained high. The synth looped behind him. He returned to his guitar, shaping a warm amber tone while the crowd shouted sapphire. He got the crowd involved like in the stomp‑stomp‑clap of We Will Rock You (Ok, not with the same intensity, but you get the idea). He sang with the sincerity the song deserved, while the synth echoed behind him and the giant screen spiralled into kaleidoscopic colour. It was trippy.
“Sing it… sapphire,” he urged, fireworks bursting on cue in the night sky.
Also, Ed Sheeran loves to chat.
“I like to start my tour in Perth or Brisbane. Both places are mental when it comes to shows… they’re nuts when it comes to energy.” He hyped the crowd to jump at the chorus. “Set the tone for Australia,” he said, seeing Perth being the first show of the run. The rapid riff of Castle on the Hill rang out. For the casual listeners, this was the night’s first massive hit. Love hearts glowed on the screen. The track is about his upbringing in Framlingham, Suffolk, and the feeling of going home. Even though Perth is half a world away from medieval churches and English fields, he felt right at home here, thanks to the embrace by the “en masses”.
And that was just the first three songs. So far, we’ve witnessed a bridge extending and retracting, styles shifting between rapid‑fire, reflective, and nostalgic, all showing the versatility that makes Ed Sheeran such a force on stage.
Those ingredients repeated themselves ten more times, with sprinkles of delightful bonuses.
So let’s take a breather;
The Loop Tour supports his eighth album Play, released in 2025. While Sheeran has always used loop pedals, this tour is a full thematic expansion – more improvisation, more live layering, and a return to the raw solo‑performer style that first built his career.
“The reason why I called this tour Loop was that when I was a teenager, I was watching a band when I was 14, and the guy opening, Gary Dunne was using a loop pedal. He taught me how to use one, and since then I’ve been using a loop pedal… this is dedicated to those moments.”
He kept sharing bits about his music, his career, and emphasising on his setbacks, but never for more than a minute at a time, afterall Sheeran had 30 songs to smitten us. He spoke about his bond with Australia, which was unsurprisingly, considering all 12 stadium shows are pretty much sold out, with some tickets remaining.
“We usually take our holidays in Ireland, and one year we toured Australia. We fell in love with the music, the culture… then I started having success in music, signed to a record company, and the label said, ‘We should take this around the world – and the place that loves this music the most is Australia.’ And I love it…”
Then came a slice of Ireland: for the first time in Australia, Beoga joined him on stage, bringing their orange, white and green flair to six songs, including Galway Girl and I Don’t Care. He also dedicated a song to his late friend Jamal with Old Phone and Camera.
The visuals on the giant screen stayed abstract – shapes, patterns, silhouettes – with lights sweeping across the stadium. The occasional fireworks were launched and fireballs shot from two huge pillars, with three more bursting from the top of the main stage.
A much needed cool breeze drifted in as Sheeran’s classics arrived. Photograph was sung with acoustic tenderness, pure nostalgia. Under the stars, the crowd stood in quiet embrace, every note rinsed in memory. For the first time, it felt like Sheeran was the one far from home.
The nostalgia kept rolling with mashups of Eastside, 2002 + Cold Water, Little Things, and Love Yourself on Stage B.
Then came the tracks casual listeners were waiting for – the “two songs that would never not be on the setlist…” he said while on the B Stage.
Thinking Out Loud – arguably the song that catapulted Sheeran into stadium stardom. The crowd echoed every line while silhouettes of dancers filled the floor, mirroring the two figures on the giant screen. The performance was purely acoustic, his warm and intimate vocals gliding effortlessly. It’s arguably the number one karaoke song amongst the generation X for a reason, and tonight, 55,000 fans sang with him.
“And the reason is…a lot of people here have been attached to proper life moments – proposals, weddings…”
It was a beautiful chapter of the set before easing into the gentle, confessional opening of Perfect, a song that’s been the soundtrack to countless weddings. Some couples danced; others contemplate in stupor.
“The reason this is cool is because the songs I had for my wedding are etched in my memory forever… and it’s cool to immortalise these songs. These are songs I wrote from personal experience, and they now belong to millions of people for their personal experiences. Long after my career is done, these memories will still remain for families…”
The encore was a classic hatrick with Shape of You and Azizam – two songs steeped in a love‑struck energy, before Bad Habits closed out the 2.5-hour show. It was the finale to a perfect night.
We have been scanning the stadium throughout the night, starring in wonderment, lingering on the surreal thought that a single person can make the stadium rock.
That was just for night one.
Ed Sheeran is touring across Australia including Perth again tonight, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide. Tickets are available from Frontier Touring
Sheldon Ang Media would like to thank Frontier Touring and Ed Sheeran for the review accreditation
Perth Setlist Loop Tour 2026
B Stage
You Need Me, I Don’t Need You — + (Plus), 2011
Main Stage
Sapphire — Autumn Variations, 2023
Castle on the Hill — ÷ (Divide), 2017
The A Team — + (Plus), 2011
Shivers — = (Equals), 2021
B Stage
Eyes Closed — − (Subtract), 2023
Cold Coffee — Loose Change EP, 2010 (non‑album)
Overpass Graffiti — = (Equals), 2021
American Town — Autumn Variations, 2023
Afire Love — × (Multiply), 2014
Give Me Love — + (Plus), 2011
Main Stage (Middle Section)
Galway Girl — ÷ (Divide), 2017
Nancy Mulligan — ÷ (Divide), 2017
I Don’t Care — No.6 Collaborations Project, 2019
Old Phone — Autumn Variations, 2023
Opening — Tour intro piece (non‑album)
Camera — Autumn Variations, 2023
Celestial — Pokémon collaboration single, 2022 (non‑album)
Photograph — × (Multiply), 2014
B‑Stage (Medley Section)
Medley:
Eastside — Single (Benny Blanco, Halsey & Khalid ft. Ed Sheeran), 2018
2002 — Anne‑Marie, Speak Your Mind, 2018
Cold Water — Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber & MØ, Single, 2016
Little Things — One Direction, Take Me Home, 2012
Love Yourself — Justin Bieber, Purpose, 2015
Main Stage (Final Section)
Thinking Out Loud — × (Multiply), 2014
Perfect — ÷ (Divide), 2017
I See Fire — The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug soundtrack, 2013
Symmetry — Autumn Variations, 2023
Bloodstream — × (Multiply), 2014
Afterglow — Single, 2020
Encore
Shape of You — ÷ (Divide), 2017
Azizam — Play, 2025
Bad Habits — = (Equals), 2021
About the writer: The founder of Perth-based Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) has been accredited to more than 200 of the hottest acts including Taylor Swift (ERAS Tour in Sydney), Coldplay (Perth), AD/DC, Metallica, KISS, RHCP, P!NK and Suzi Quatro with reviews shared by the likes of Belinda Carlisle, Roxette, Tina Arena, UB40, Delta Goodrem, and Tina Arena on social media. He has interviewed rockers Suzi Quatro, Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS) plus over 100 artists. He’s also a contributor on Triple M Radio as a music journalist.
