Ed Sheeran loses opening acts

Ed Sheeran lost all his opening acts after Macklemore advocated for free Palestine and Sheeran dropped him.

Isaac Slade opens for Sheeran

Isaac Slade performed as Ed Sheeran's opening act at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday.

Slade's message on unity

Slade said Ed Sheeran's apolitical stance is admirable and people need brave individuals to step into the middle.

“I respect Ed for making this place safe and welcoming for all of us, regardless of what we believe. Everybody seems to be taking sides on this one. And that's good. What's happening over there is not right. But if we're going to get through this, we also need people who are brave enough to step out into the middle place, that common ground, that bonfire in the middle of the field that sees both sides and understands that peace is not the lack of conflict.”

Slade's view on peace

Slade described peace as a messy painting that holds beauty, tragedy, sorrow, and joy, not a blank canvas.

“Peace is a messy, messy painting that holds enough beauty and enough tragedy and enough sorrow and enough joy and life that if we learn how to integrate it and hold each other in balance, we will find a way through this, together.”

Sheeran's stance compared

Slade's comments made Sheeran's statements seem articulate and insightful by comparison.