Ed Sheeran Secretly Recorded a Live Version of New LP ‘Autumn Variations’ in Fans’ Homes

Ed Sheeran has revealed that he recorded a live version of his forthcoming LP Autumn Variations by doing surprise pop-up gigs in fans’ houses. Writing on Instagram, Sheeran shared that “each song is recorded in a different fan’s living room, but all of it was a total surprise.”

The singer posted a video of himself performing an older song at one fan’s house, explaining “We got to @kariconaway‘s house at the end of the day, and I instantly knew it was gonna be a fun one. They had cats, friendship bracelets and some fruit drinks to start, but once I’d played the Autumn song I said take me on a tour, and when I went into her room I saw a piano. She asked if I could play and I said ‘not really but I kinda play on wake me up’, so here I am playing ‘Wake Me Up,’ for all the Plus fans out there.”

He added. “The fan living room live Autumn Variations album coming soon, proper album out 29th September go preorder you legends.”

Earlier this month, Sheeran posted a TikTok teasing these surprise appearances. He noted, “Surprise pop ups in fans houses to record something special, coming soon. Ps your cats were cool.”

Sheeran will release Autumn Variations on Sept. 29 via Gingerbread Man Records. The album, produced by Aaron Dessner, was inspired by Enigma Variations, an orchestral work from composer Edward Elgar created between October 1898 and February 1899. The 14 compositions each reflected a different figure in Elgar’s life. Sheeran’s father and brother first introduced the project to him, and he saw it as a fitting medium to repackage the revelations that emerged from those conversations with his friends.

“When I recorded Subtract with Aaron Dessner, we clicked immediately. We wrote and recorded non-stop and this album was born out of that partnership,” Sheeran said in a statement. “I feel he has captured the feeling of autumn so wonderfully in his sonics and I hope everyone loves it as much as I do.”

The album follows on the heels of Sheeran’s sixth studio LP, Subtract, which dropped in May. Autumn Variations will arrive one week after the singer’s Mathematics world tour concludes its North American leg, fittingly on the first day of autumn.