Concert Review - Mathematics Tour featuring Ed Sheeran with Khalid and Rosa Linn

Mathematics tour featuring Ed Sheeran with Khalid and Rosa Linn at Ford Field Detroit.

This show makes my list of top ten concerts I’ve ever seen.

Before I get into the why, let me start with some details of my journey. You know the phrase “Go big or go home,” right? Traditionally, amateur photographers start with local artists and small venue shows and work their way up from there.

I never thought I would get to shoot someone of Ed’s stature at such a big venue for only my second show as a professional concert photographer. I was pleasantly surprised that I was approved with credentials the morning of the show. I'm incredibly grateful that they honored me with this opportunity. After receiving the email, my stomach was in knots. I was so excited and nervous because I knew this would be a different animal.

Y’all this was a different animal!

I got there and missed the first performance by Rosa Linn because I completely underestimated traffic and had to wait to be given my credentials. After her performance, the PR rep came and got me, gave me my credentials, and took me to the conference room, where I was to wait until it was time to take our position to shoot Khalid.

Going into the room with four other photographers, all super nice and welcoming. But listen, I’m looking around the room and seeing all this top-of-the-line equipment, editing of pictures on site on the laptops, etc., and I’m sitting there with my baby camera, chuckling and thinking to myself, "I do not belong in this room, how did I get here?"

The most uplifting thing about the night was hearing fans make comments as we made our way to the floor, “look honey, it's the photographers” one fan even jokes, “Here's our chance, let's follow them and we’ll say we’re with the crew,” this made me laugh.

Concert photography is so technical because your camera has to be set just right. Mine was not, so Khalid's shots were not the greatest, but (thankfully, I got it together before Ed came on) his performance was good. Khalid missed a couple of shows due to a car accident, and it was good to see that he recovered well. His set had a relaxed vibe, and he was laid back, having fun with the fans in the crowd. Sidenote, I love his smile, there was a lot of smiling going on.

Okay so let me tell you why this makes the top ten concert list.

First you must know I am very musically well rounded and Ed is one of my favorite pop artists. As I took my position to shoot, the stage screen showed a countdown, and the crowd went absolutely insane. Ed hits the stage, and the experience, like no other, began. Let me explain. He performed about 27 songs. Out of those songs, he performed 11 with a full band.

The rest of the time HE was the band, the pianists, the guitarist, AND the backup singer! It was all him, my mind was blown! There was no backup track supporting him or anything. It was just him, standing there live in its purest form.

I bet you’re wondering how this is possible. In the beginning, so were we! (My husband and I) Ed performs with a looping station, meaning he is live-looping everything he plays and sings, layering it and creating right there before us. Around the stage were loop pedals for him to record, adjust, reverse, stop, whatever he needs to do just by the tap of his foot.

After learning that this, in fact, was happening, it made me appreciate the artistry of it all. Ed is so talented, and his performance was like watching art explode onto a canvas. Lord only knows how technical this process is. It was exhilarating to watch. The stage setup was also sick! The design team killed that. There was a giant circular screen in the center and what I believe to be six mini guitar pick screens. The production was crazy good.

A personal favorite of my husband was the filters used on screens, it looked so cool. The stage also had a 360 rotation. I'm still not sure how he was not getting dizzy. The absolute best part of the night was the surprise Ed had in store for us. Earlier in the show, while performing “Don’t,” he mixed it with a cover of “No Diggity” by Blackstreet. He also did a cover of “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber, which he also wrote.

So when he started talking about Detroit and geared his guitar up to start playing “Lose Yourself” by Eminem. I was thinking, "Okay, he is doing a cover of the classic Detroit anthem. cool." I’m vibing, enjoying it, singing along but not singing along because, well, he wasn’t rapping. It didn’t have the same flow. Ed gets through the first few bars of the song, sings “times up over blaow,” and suddenly, this very familiar voice goes “snap back to reality." Eminem hits the stage, and the crowd goes wild!

I can not truly explain the crowd's energy during this moment, but I guess the word I would use is Epic. The emotions that ran through my body were complete shock, excitement, disbelief, and a lot of screaming, my husband had never seen me fan out this way, and I’m sure I will never hear the end of it. They performed Stan, Em left the stage, the crowd was still on a high, and it was only up from there.

This concert was one for the books, and I wouldn’t change a thing. These experiences are truly amazing. I hope to continue to grow, and I’m definitely going to continue to go big! There’s no other way now!