“I used to pretend to be in their band in the mirror and sing along to the album when I was 9,” Sheeran shared about his love for the rock band in a celebratory post on Instagram
Ed Sheeran‘s childhood dream came true over the weekend. The singer and songwriter joined the Offspring for a surprise appearance at BottleRock Festival in Napa, California, where they were both booked to perform on Sunday, May 26. Standing beside the band he has long-admired would be thrilling enough on its own, but the rock collective sweetened the deal when they had him join for “Million Miles Away,” a particularly significant song for Sheeran.
“The first album I ever bought was the @offspring – Conspiracy of One. I used to pretend to be in their band in the mirror and sing along to the album when I was 9, mostly to their song Million Miles Away as it was the first song of theirs I heard,” the singer shared on Instagram. The caption was listed beneath a video compiling footage from throughout the day, from their trailer rehearsals to their grand delivery to a thousands-deep audience on the Verizon Stage.
“I mentioned it in an interview and Noodles / Dexter got in touch with me when we found out we were all playing the same festival, to see if I wanted to get on stage and sing it,” Sheeran continued. “It was an instant yes obvz. Really felt like living out a childhood dream thank you for having me up there guys. Music is a wild ride, every day I’m so grateful to be living my dream in reality. Hope you enjoy the vid.”
Sheeran wore a black Offspring t-shirt for the performance, but he carries the band with him even when he isn’t in their merch. Backstage, the singer snapped a photo with the band gathered around his tattoo of their fiery skull logo.
Ed Sheeran shows off his The Offspring tattoo to the band backstage.
Alan Snodgrass*
“What a pleasure it was to have Ed Sheeran join us for “Million Miles Away” at @bottlerocknapa!” the band shared on Instagram. “We loved hearing about how ‘Conspiracy of One’ was the very first album that he ever bought and he even showed us his Offspring tattoo!!!”
