Ed Sheeran has never shied away from his deep affinity for Irish music, but his latest move pushes that bond into centre stage. Ahead of his massive 2026 Loop Tour across North America, the global megastar has announced that three Irish acts, folk trio Amble, Dublin singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe, and all-female trad collective Biird, will join him as support for a run of stadium shows from June to November.
The connection isn’t random. All three acts shared a stage with Sheeran in August when he made a surprise appearance at Fleadh Cheoil in Wexford, slipping into The Sky And The Ground pub to perform traditional tunes alongside Biird and delivering a stripped-back version of his 2017 hit Castle On The Hill. The performance of Wild Mountain Thyme, a traditional ballad deeply rooted in Irish folk, underscored just how naturally Sheeran straddles global pop stardom and his cultural roots. “I identify culturally as Irish,” he has said, and this tour lineup feels like proof.
For the artists involved, this is career-changing exposure. Aaron Rowe, fresh from releasing Talking With You and supporting Lewis Capaldi on a sold-out arena run (including Dublin’s 3Arena), also made his Glastonbury debut this summer. Biird, an 11-strong powerhouse formed just last year, sold out Vicar Street in May and are now recording their debut album. And Amble, whose latest album Reverie topped the Irish charts for three weeks, already shared stages with Hozier on his U.S. tour.
It’s not just Irish talent on the bill, Myles Smith, Macklemore, Lukas Graham, and Ellie Banke will also appear, but the prominence given to homegrown voices makes this tour feel personal. Coming hot on the heels of Sheeran’s seventh Irish No.1 album, Play, this feels like more than just another blockbuster run. It’s a celebration, of roots, of community, and of how far Irish music continues to travel.
