Ed Sheeran enlists The Fray frontman Isaac Slade as suprise act in Atlanta after Macklemore controversy

Ed Sheeran enlisted The Fray frontman Isaac Slade as the surprise guest act for his Atlanta concert Saturday — weeks after Macklemore was axed from the tour following his anti-Israel rant and his openers quit.

Slade performed an abbreviated set which included hits “How to Save a Life” and “You Found Me” before Sheeran took the stage at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“Everybody seems to be taking sides in this world and that’s good,” Slade said onstage, according to clips on social media.

“What’s happening over there [in Gaza] is wrong but if we’re going to get through it, we’re going to need people to step into that middle place, that common ground,” he continued.

“That bonfire in the middle of the field that sees both sides, that understands that peace is not a lack of conflict. Peace is not a blank canvas that we need to guard and be polite.”

“[Peace] holds enough beauty, enough tragedy, enough sorrow, enough joy and life if we learn how to integrate it and hold each other in balance. We will find a way through this together,” Slade added.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium teased Slade’s appearance Saturday in a “Know Before You Go” post on Instagram, listing a “special guest” before Sheeran’s 8 p.m. performance.

He previously joined Sheeran onstage during a Loop Tour concert in Toronto in August. Sheeran has credited The Fray as an influence on his early career.

Slade, who co-founded The Fray, left the band in 2022 to focus on his mental health after experiencing a series of onstage panic attacks. He launched his first solo tour in December 2025.

Sheeran has performed several recent Loop Tour shows without a traditional opening act after Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, and backing band Beoga quit the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.

The “Thrift Shop” rapper performed at two Loop Tour shows at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium last month, wearing a black-and-white keffiyeh around his neck as he shouted “Free Palestine” and performed his song “Hind’s Hall.”

Days later, Sheeran’s touring partners announced that Macklemore had been removed from the tour after Jewish NFL owner Robert Kraft and other venues threatened to cancel upcoming shows featuring the rapper.

Sheeran’s planned shows at Gillette Stadium were later canceled because of bad weather.

After facing criticism over how he handled the situation, Sheeran said during his Sept. 19 show at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field that he had been “making mistakes” and was “so, so sorry” for how it 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,” Sheeran told fans.

“[My music] has always been a safe space for everyone. That matters hugely to me.”

“Honoring my commitment to my fans is also completely essential to who I am. That is why I’m here tonight — on my own — continuing my own tour,” he added.

The US leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour is scheduled to wrap Nov. 7 at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. He will then head to Latin America before ending the tour Dec. 11 at Mexico City’s Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes.

Meanwhile, country singer Zach Bryan wore a “Free Palestine” shirt during his concert at Kraft’s Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Friday night.

Several members of his band also wore clothing supporting Palestine.