Boston should prepare itself for another British invasion this weekend, as music superstars Ed Sheeran and James Blunt are coming to town for two nights at the TD Garden.
The pair of UK crooners have been traveling across the globe for Sheeran’s latest tour, which stops in the Hub on Friday and Saturday night. While Blunt is only in town to perform as the opening act, he’s totally cool with his role at the “Shape of You” star’s concerts.
“I’m Ed Sheeran’s sidekick. I come on for 40 minutes before him,” Blunt tells Metro. “I’m also off stage two hours before, so I got two hours of drinking time ahead of him.”
The 43-year-old singer-songwriter, who plans to warm up for this weekend’s gigs with an intimate show at the British Beer Company in Framingham on Friday, has been having a lot of fun on the road with Sheeran this year.
Aside from performing alongside one of the biggest stars in music today, Blunt’s 2017 also marked the debut of his latest album, “The Afterlove,” as well as his dance hit “OK.” The track has found its way atop the charts thanks to his collaboration with German DJ Robin Schulz.
For an artist who’s primarily known in the US for being “one man with a guitar singing miserable songs,” “OK” is a surprising change of style for Blunt. Originally, he planned on ditching the song from his album until Schulz got a hold of it.
“It’s now my lead single in the states,” Blunt says. “I never thought I’d hear it again, now I’m actually singing it every day.”
Overall, the English musician is happy that he got a chance to show off his diverse skillset on “The Afterlove,” which featured some help from Sheeran in the writing department on one of the tracks. Blunt hopes that his ever-evolving style will help open up American fans to his music, besides his song “You’re Beautiful,” of course.
“Playing to an audience, you don’t know what to expect other than the one song that they know here in the states,” Blunt says. “My job is just to win them over.”