Singer-Songwriter Ed Sheeran opened a 1-day pub event in Ipswich last Friday.
The event took place behind the former EBSCO building, in a temporary pub created solely for this event, named The Old Phone Pub. Sheeran planned on filming a music video as part of his performance, allowing fans to be a part of it.
For just one night, the bar was in operation and there was also a menu with food on it. How did people participate in it? To get in, attendees had to have received a valid confirmation text in advance, which allowed them to go, plus one. Unfortunately, not all those who received a confirmation text were let in, as this was a first-come-first-serve event.
Sheeran’s directions to fans asked them to text the number 917-909-4498 with phone messages that were meaningful to them. These messages were later projected on the walls of the bar during his performance.
On a recently released website, theoldphonepub.com, Sheeran described the pub as “a place where memories are celebrated and new ones are made.” He added “Blending the nostalgia of times gone by with the comfort of your favorite local establishment, guests are a part of something much larger than just a night out.”
The pub was gone by Saturday, the 29th. Sheeran has no intent of hosting any other events there, but who knows if he might show up again somewhere local sometime soon.
Prior to the Ipswitch pub event, Sheeran was spotted at the St. Patrick’s day parade in Boston. Crowds were surprised to see the pop-star performing in a Dubliner Irish pub.
A little while later, Sheeran performed his hit songs, “Shape of You,” “Perfect,” and “Thinking Out Loud.”
Since Sheeran currently has no American tours scheduled, this performance was exciting for fans. Despite Sheeran’s known British citizenship, his half Irish ancestry may have been what caused him to celebrate Irish heritage.
Prior to the performance, Sheeran posted a picture of himself in Boston on his Instagram story with the caption, “Meet me in the pub tonight,” late on Monday evening, giving only a hint that the performance would be happening.
Bostonian Caan McGonagle said of the surprise, “We were in The Dubliner early this evening, enjoying the celebrations. We heard about a special event out the back so we managed to get our way out and the music was brilliant, the bands were class and then the next thing you know Ed Sheeran just appeared out of nowhere. It was class. It was brilliant.”