Ed Sheeran announces three homecoming shows with Busted, James Blunt and more at Portman Road in Ipswich

Ed Sheeran has announced three homecoming shows in Ipswich for this summer – you can find all the details below.

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The trio of gigs will take place at the Suffolk town’s Portman Road stadium – the home of Sheeran’s beloved Ipswich Town FC, in which he purchased a minority stake last year. They’ll come ahead of the musician’s new album ‘Play’, released on September 12.

Sheeran is due to perform in his hometown on July 11, 12 and 13. He’ll be joined by special guests Myles Smith and Tori Kelly (July 11), Busted and Dylan (12), and James Blunt and Maisie Peters (13).

The three-night stint will mark Sheeran’s first UK headline shows since 2023, and include the debut performances of tracks from ‘Play’ alongside a selection of older fan favourites.

Tickets go on general sale at 10am BST next Friday (May 9) – you’ll be able to buy yours here. Alternatively, fans can access a pre-sale at 9am BST on Wednesday (7) by pre-ordering ‘Play’ from Sheeran’s official store – you can do so here.

£1 from every ticket sold for these dates will be donated to the Live Trust, a new funding initiative from LIVE that offers much-needed financial support to those working across live music. The Live Trust will initially support the grassroots music sector – from venues and artists to festivals and promoters.

Ed's bringing Play to @ipswichtown 11th, 12th and 13th July, we're taking over Portman Road to celebrate all things Play https://t.co/YBgkCwlrYD

Pre-order Play from the official store by 3pm BST on Tuesday 6th May to get early access to pre-sale tickets for the shows.… pic.twitter.com/PuRJXuEVnn

— Ed Sheeran HQ (@edsheeran) May 2, 2025

The scheme was set up in the wake of last year’s CMS Select Committee investigation into the state of the grassroots. Other acts such as Pulp and Mumford & Sons have since pledged to donate to the initiative via their tour tickets.

Sheeran is a lifelong supporter of Ipswich Town FC, and has been the shirt sponsor for the club since 2021. That same year, the star was added to the squad list for the upcoming season. In 2023, the team serenaded him with a rendition of ‘Perfect’ in the locker room.

The singer-songwriter is scheduled to play a gig in Bahrain tonight (May 2) following performances in Bhutan, India and Qatar. He’ll then embark on a run of European shows, spanning this month to early September.

Last month saw Sheeran play an intimate, last-minute set at Coachella 2025, where he also joined headliner Post Malone on stage.

The forthcoming ‘Play’ will serve as the first entry in Sheeran’s new series of albums – also comprising ‘Pause’, ‘Fast Forward’, ‘Rewind’ and ‘Stop’. It has already been previewed with the singles ‘Azizam’ and ‘Old Phone’.

He recently teased that a new track called ‘Sapphire’ would be arriving soon, and said he planned to release new music every two or three weeks.

‘Play’ is set to see Sheeran entering a fresh chapter of his career, where he’ll be “exploring new musical ground through collaboration with producers and musicians from around the world”.

In part, the record will see Sheeran hone in on the signature sound that first put him on the map, while also being inspired by his exposure to Indian and Persian musical cultures, and their connections to Irish folk.

“‘Play’ was an album that was made as a direct response to the darkest period of my life,” Sheeran explained.

“Coming out of all of that I just wanted to create joy and technicolour, and explore cultures in the countries I was touring,” Sheeran shared. “I made this record all over the world, finished it in Goa, India, and had some of the most fun, explorative creative days of my life.”

In other news, Sheeran has revisited an old dig made by Taylor Swift at Kanye West in a recently shared throwback photo. He uploaded the image to his new archival Instagram account – Teddy’s Old Phone – which he launched to promote his latest single.

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