Ed Sheeran

Rixton will join Ed Sheeran for his show date in Winnipeg!

Tickets will be available at the MTS Centre box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, charge-by-phone at 1.855.985.5000 or online at ticketmaster.ca

Atlantic recording artist Ed Sheeran has announced details for his 2015 North American headlining tour. The cross country trek – produced and promoted by AEG Live & The Messina Group (TMG) – will kick off at Austin’s Frank Erwin Center on May 6th and includes stops at New York City’s Forest Hills Stadium and the iconic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles (see attached itinerary). The dates are part of Sheeran’s highly successful worldwide tour which culminates with three sold out nights at London’s Wembley Stadium. Additionally, Sheeran will be among the top-billed performers at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (May 2nd) and Rock in Rio USA in Las Vegas (May 15th). For more ticket information and tour updates, please visit www.edsheeran.com.

The tour announcement comes on the heels of the acclaimed singer-songwriter’s triumphant night at the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards, where Sheeran was nominated for 3 awards, including the prestigious “Album of the Year” for his RIAA platinum-certified album “x” (pronounced multiply). Sheeran’s other nominations came in the categories for “Best Pop Vocal Album” and “Best Song Written For Visual Media” for his song “I See Fire” from the feature film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Sheeran also received one of the biggest ovations of the night for his performance of his RIAA-certified Platinum single “Thinking Out Loud,” where he was joined by GRAMMY winners Herbie Hancock, John Mayer, and Questlove. Sheeran returned to the stage to perform with the legendary Jeff Lynne’s ELO. Both “x” and “Thinking Out Loud” shot to #1 on iTunes immediately following his appearance.

Already proving to be one of the biggest songs of the year, Sheeran’s latest single “Thinking Out Loud” has skyrocketed to #1 on the Hot AC radio chart and #2 at Top 40. Likewise, “Thinking Out Loud” stands tall at #2 on Billboard Hot 100, earning the acclaimed singer-songwriter the highest charting U.S. single of his career so far. “Thinking Out Loud” is the third single from “x” following back-to-back RIAA-certified Platinum singles “Sing” and “Don’t.” Already a global smash, “Thinking Out Loud” has already gone to #1 in 9 countries around the world, including his native United Kingdom. Sheeran debuted the single in the U.S. with high profile performances of the song on CBS’ “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” and the season finale of NBC’s “The Voice” in December. The single’s beautifully-shot companion music video (http://youtu.be/lp-EO5I60KA) – directed by longtime collaborator Emil Nava – has already amassed over 215 million views and features Sheeran ballroom dancing, a skill he learned through intensive, five-hour training sessions over the course of ten days during the North American leg of his worldwide arena tour.

Next up, Sheeran is set to appear on the syndicated “Ellen DeGeneres Show” today for a post-GRAMMY performance of “Thinking Out Loud.” The acclaimed artist is also among the star-studded lineup performing on CBS’ “Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life – An All-Star GRAMMY Salute” which airs on February 16. Sheeran will return to London to perform at this year’s BRIT Awards, where he’s nominated for 4 awards, including Male Solo Artist, Single, and Album Of The Year.

Rixton

The first full-length album from Rixton—the Manchester, England-based foursome whose debut single “Me and My Broken Heart” went platinum in the U.S. and hit #1 on the UK Singles chart in 2014—Let the Road takes its title from a soulful, harmony-powered a capella song that the band wrote in its earliest days. “We came up with ‘Let the Road’ years ago in a caravan in Danny’s back garden, when we were trying to make something happen with our music and nothing was working out,” says vocalist/rhythm guitarist Jake Roche, who formed Rixton with Charley Bagnall (vocals, lead guitar), Danny Wilkin (vocals, bass, keys), and Lewi Morgan (vocals, drums) in 2012. “It’s perfect to have that be the title track and the first song on this album,” Jake continues, “because it shows that you really never know where you’re going in life.”

Produced by Benny Blanco (Maroon 5, Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, Rihanna, OneRepublic) and released via School Boy/Giant Little Man/Mad Love/Interscope Records, Let the Road serves as a prime showcase for the melody-fueled fusion of pop, rock, and R&B that’s propelled Rixton out of that backyard caravan and into the international spotlight. Along with “Me and My Broken Heart” and “Wait On Me” (Rixton’s second single, a reggae-tinged summer smash that landed on Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40 chart soon after its July 2014 release), the album features both new material and songs revamped from dozens of demos the band’s assembled over the years. Those newer tracks include their haunting third single “Hotel Ceiling,” penned by Ed Sheeran to reveal a darker, moodier, more intense side of Rixton. Further proof of the group’s magnetic versatility, Rixton weave their breathtaking four-part harmonies and high-energy, live-instrument-based brand of pop into tracks as diverse as the stripped-back party song “I Like Girls,” the aching piano ballad “Whole,” and the breezy but bittersweet breakup number “Beautiful Excuses.” “Our sound’s changed slightly over the years,” notes Lewi, “but one thing that’s stayed consistent is writing big songs that take the listener on an emotional journey.”