Ed Sheeran Breaks Silence After Police Abruptly Halt His Surprise Street Concert in India.
Ed Sheeran is speaking out after police in Bengaluru, India, abruptly halted a surprise street concert he was performing on February 9, 2025. The "Bad Habits" singer, who is currently on the international leg of his Mathematics tour, assured fans that everything was fine despite the unexpected interruption.
Sheeran explained in an Instagram Story that the performance was pre-arranged. “We had permission to busk btw, hence us playing in that exact spot, was planned out before, it wasn’t just us randomly turning up,” he wrote. “All good though,” he added, reassuring his followers. “See ya at the show tonight x.”
The street performance was captured on fan-recorded video, showing Sheeran singing his hit "Shape of You" while wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and sunglasses. With just an acoustic guitar and a microphone, he entertained a crowd in front of a mural-painted wall. However, as the crowd sang along, a uniformed officer approached and unplugged his microphone, ending the performance. In the video, Sheeran can be seen smiling and shrugging in good-natured defeat after the mic was cut. "Everyone, we had permission to do this, but this policeman is shutting it down," he told the crowd.
Despite the early end to his impromptu performance, Sheeran’s surprise concert was well received by fans. One spectator posted on X, "Went for a casual walk on Church Street and stumbled upon Ed Sheeran performing live. What a city!"
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Later that evening, Sheeran posted another Instagram Story ahead of his second Bengaluru show, captioning a backstage photo with "Night 2." His surprise performance in India follows a series of memorable moments from his trip, including a sitar lesson with Megha Rawoot, which he shared on Instagram on February 7. In the post, Sheeran praised Rawoot, calling her “a great teacher,” and happily strummed the sitar while singing "Shape of You."
Sheeran’s Indian adventure also included other exciting highlights. On February 6, he shared a series of photos and videos, giving fans a glimpse of his time in India. He visited various sights, spent time with England's cricket team, and collaborated with Grammy-winning composer A. R. Rahman, best known for scoring the movie Slumdog Millionaire.
Sheeran’s Indian tour dates are part of his extensive international run. His recent trip to India follows a historic performance in Bhutan, where he became the first international music artist to perform a concert there. Reflecting on the milestone in a January 25 Instagram video, Sheeran said, “It’s mad that this is the first international concert here,” adding, “I hope that there’s many more to come.”
In his post, Sheeran thanked the volunteers who helped make the concert possible and expressed his admiration for Bhutan, calling it “a beautiful place with incredible people.”
