Ed Sheeran made a stop in Houston, TX as a part of The +–=÷× Tour (pronounced The Mathematics Tour) at NRG Stadium on May 13, 2023. Both Dylan and Khalid opened for the popstar.

The stage for the +–=÷× tour is a simple circular stage in the middle of the stadium that turns consistently clockwise. It was a unique and innovative way to have the artists interact with all sides of the large stadium. Additionally, there’s multiple guitar-pick-shaped screens staggered around the stage, and throughout the concert you’ll see Sheeran performing on the screens with intriguingly unique video effects (from a colored pattern overlay, film scratch, slow-motion, and more!). 

While Sheeran is positioned on the moving center stage, the other band members are positioned adjacent to this centerpiece. There’s a few interesting times where different sections of the stadium are prompted by Sheeran to sing or turn on the flashlight on their phone. Despite not having elaborate set or costume changes, the show still has much to cherish and was extremely sweet (an ideal date or family night out!) 

I sat in lower bowl section 118 row M (which was the 2nd row) and it was the best view in the house. While the floor (which is standing-room-only) does get you closer to the artists, you will be standing for a long time. At NRG stadium the acts began as follows…

Dylan: 6:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Khalid: 7:00 PM - 7:45 PM
Ed Sheeran 8:15 PM - 10:15 PM

That’s over 5 hours of standing and normally if there’s a ton of upbeat dance music, standing may not be so difficult. However, there’s tons of slow-paced sweet music that it was nice to be able to sit down and admire from a distance. 

Here is a look at Ed Sheeran’s setlist in Houston…

• Tides
• BLOW
• Solo
• I'm a Mess
• Shivers
• The A Team
• Castle on the Hill
• Don't / Loyal / No Diggity
• Eyes Closed
• Give Me Love
• Boat
• Own It / PERU / South of the Border / I Don't Care
• Beautiful People (with Khalid)
• End of Youth
• Curtains
• Overpass Graffiti
• Galway Girl
• Thinking Out Loud
• Solo
• Love Yourself
• Sing
• Photograph
• Perfect
• Bloodstream
• Afterglow

Encore 

• You Need Me, I Don't Need You
• Shape of You
• Bad Habits

Although I am not a die-hard Ed Sheeran fan, I like most of his hit singles (particularly, “Castle on the Hill”, “Beautiful People”, “Photograph”, and “Thinking Out Loud”) and he does them all. Khalid appearing just in time for the second verse of “Beautiful People” got a big applause from the audience! Sheeran explains that he wrote “Love Yourself” and that it was decided someone else should run with it; the mention of the track was another moment of glee from the audience. Although I personally would have been complacent with a 20-30 minute shorter concert (it’s 2 hours long), big fans are going to admire all of the songs covered and I had a wonderful enough of a time to recommend this show. For more information on upcoming tours, visit https://www.edsheeran.com/