Ed Sheeran’s childhood dream came true over the weekend. The singer made a surprise appearance with The Offspring at the BottleRock Festival in Napa, California, on Sunday, May 26. Performing alongside the band he admired since childhood was thrilling enough, but it was made even more special when he joined them for “Million Miles Away,” a song particularly significant to him.
“The first album I ever bought was The Offspring’s ‘Conspiracy of One.’ I used to pretend to be in their band and sing along to the album when I was 9, especially ‘Million Miles Away’ since it was the first song of theirs I heard,” Sheeran shared on Instagram. His post included a video showing moments from their trailer rehearsals to the live performance on the Verizon Stage.
“I mentioned this in an interview, and when Noodles and Dexter found out we were all playing the same festival, they asked if I wanted to join them on stage. It was an instant yes. It felt like living out a childhood dream. Thank you for having me up there, guys. Music is a wild ride, and I’m grateful every day to be living my dream. Hope you enjoy the video.”
Sheeran wore a black Offspring t-shirt for the performance, but he keeps the band close even without their merch. Backstage, he snapped a photo with the band, showing off his tattoo of their fiery skull logo.
The Offspring shared on Instagram, “What a pleasure it was to have Ed Sheeran join us for ‘Million Miles Away’ at BottleRock! We loved hearing about how ‘Conspiracy of One’ was the very first album he bought, and he even showed us his Offspring tattoo!”