
Did Ed Sheeran Debut a New Track ‘Sweet Mary Jane’ in Concert?
Sheeran spoke after remarks from previous honoree Vice President Joe Biden (via video) and gala co-chair and Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank. He didn’t realize he was being honored until an hour before the event — plenty of time for the musician and Blunt to meet and grow chummy, to the point where he called her “not quite a cougar” on the red carpet and she jokingly told the audience that he was a “son of a bitch.”
He ended the evening by performing “Thinking Out Loud,” and when the audience asked for more, he donated $20,000 more to the institute — “I didn’t actually realize how drunk I was until I stepped onstage!” he admitted — and sang his now-signature “Don’t/Loyal/No Diggity” mash-up and Irish traditional song “The Parting Glass.”
This article originally appeared in THR.com.