The Offspring shocked the crowd at BottleRock Napa Valley music festival with a surprise performance alongside special guest Ed Sheeran on Sunday (May 26) at the Napa Valley Expo in Northern California.
In the midst of their headlining performance, Bryan “Dexter” Holland, singer of The Offspring, stopped and told the crowd about a moment they shared with Sheeran backstage.
“What a pleasure to have you, thank you! Ed [Sheeran] told us that one of our records was his first CD that he ever bought when he was a kid. That really meant a lot to us, so we thought, ‘Wow, we’d love to have you come out to join us on stage. We’re gonna play one of the songs you wanted to play,'” Holland stated before welcoming Sheeran to the stage.
Ed Sheeran, who headlined BottleRock Napa Valley and performed on the JaM Cellars Stage, then joined the award-winning rock group for a performance of “Million Miles Away,” a tune that appears on The Offspring’s 2000 album, Conspiracy of One. It’s also worth noting that The Offspring hasn’t performed this tune live since 2016, but added it to their set in honor of Sheeran.
Donning a black shirt emblazoned with The Offspring’s logo and with an electric guitar, Sheeran entered the stage and shredded on guitar as well as traded verses of the fan-favorite Offspring tune with Holland and company.
“Million miles away (Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh)/ Million miles away/ I can’t stay, I can’t stay (Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh)/ A million miles away,” the pair sang in sync during the tune’s chorus.
Watch The Offspring and Ed Sheeran Perform “Million Miles Away” Together Below
Following The Offspring and Ed Sheeran’s epic performance, Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman, guitarist for The Offspring, showcased gratitude to Sheeran for joining them on stage for a song before closing out their set with “Self Esteem,” one of the band’s most popular songs and a crowd fan during the group’s live concerts.
“I want to thank Ed Sheeran for playing with us. How cool is that?” Wasserman said.
Ed Sheeran is a longtime fan of rock and metal music, so this surprise performance alongside The Offspring comes as no surprise.
“I was really into death metal as a kid. I listened to Cradle of Filth and Slipknot and all that stuff. I’m not saying I could ever step into that world. I learned all those riffs on guitar as a kid,” Sheeran previously told The Sun during an interview in July of 2021.
Their collaborative performance certainly served as a highlight of the festival.
About BottleRock Napa Valley 2024
BottleRock Napa Valley is a music, food wine and brew festival with three days of live music, wine, food and more, which took over the Napa Valley Expo in the City of Napa over the course of Memorial Day Weekend (May 24-May 26).
The event had 4 musical stages that feature some of the biggest names in music and 1 culinary stage that starred popular chefs and actors/actresses, as well as musicians cooking and interacting withthe fans.
In addition to The Offspring and Ed Sheeran, BottleRock Napa Valley also feature performances from Stevie Nicks, Megan Thee Stallion, Nelly, Bebe Rexha, Pearl Jam, Kali Uchis, The Kid Laroi, Queens Of The Stone Age, Dominic Fike, Norah Jones, Stephen Marley, Cannons, Stephen Sanchez, Cold War Kids, T-Pain and more. The festival also included special appearances by Bradley Cooper, Cameron Diaz, Neil Patrick Harris, Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee and more.
