Ed Sheeran played a surprise live set at a primary school in Brighton last week – check out the footage and images below.
The singer-songwriter visited the Fairlight Primary and Nursery School last Friday (May 10) to meet young students and deliver a three-track acoustic performance in a special assembly.
Sheeran’s trip was organised by Create Music – the Music Hub for Brighton & Hove and East Sussex, which aims to “centre the voices of children, young people and adults” in the area (via BBC News).
The star donated five of his guitars to the school, and spoke to pupils about his hugely successful career and the importance of music education.
Headteacher Damien Jordan told BBC Radio Sussex that none of the children and only a few members of staff knew about Sheeran’s visit beforehand. He found out who the high-profile guest was just the day before.
Create Music has since shared a video of Sheeran performing his 2017 single ‘Perfect’ in front of the kids, as well as some photos of him speaking to the youngsters. See the post below.
🎸We got Shivers! The one and only @edsheeran visited Create Music at Fairlight School in Brighton today!
💚Ed met the students, performed a short set and even donated guitars to help us support other young people on their musical journey. Thanks Ed – today was Perfect! pic.twitter.com/1HIdjiuRu6
— Create Music (@createmusicUK) May 10, 2024
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Photographer Sadie Avard also captured the event and spoke about the experience on her Instagram page while sharing a series of images.
“Still pinching myself as a new photographer to the industry that yesterday really happened! I had such an surreal opportunity to meet and photograph @teddysphotos during his visit at Fairlight Primary School,” Avard wrote.
She went on to recall how the students “were very excited about [Sheeran] climbing through the crowd”, and said the artist gave an “inspirational speech” that “resonated so much with my own experience at school”.
“His main message was not to be disillusioned by school if you don’t [quite] fit the expectations of academic life,” Avard continued.
“Don’t let it stop you from pursuing the things you love and turning them into your career. To find inspiration from others in the industry and work even harder than they do to become the best.”
“To find out more about what Ed Sheeran and his foundation are doing head to, Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation!!” Check out the posts here:
Peter Chivers, director of Create Music, explained: “Ed shares our belief that lives can be transformed by the power of music. We are so grateful for his support and for the generous donation of instruments to help other budding musicians on their way.”
In 2020, Sheeran surprised students at a south London primary school with a lockdown music lesson via video call. It was later revealed that he had donated £170,000 to his former school to provide key equipment for its pupils via the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation.
Earlier this month, the musician performed with Ipswich Town players to celebrate the football team’s promotion to the Premier League.
In other news, Sheeran recently confirmed that he was working on new music but said it’d likely be a while before it was released. He has also shared details of a one-off show in Brooklyn, New York to celebrate 10 years of his second album ‘X’.
The singer-songwriter put out two studio albums last year in the form of ‘-‘ and ‘Autumn Variations’.