*Ed Sheeran performing at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland - December 12th, 2015 - Photos by David Watson*

Australia and New Zealand’s biggest ever tour is less than a month away! Ed Sheeran’s 18-date stadium tour kicks off with the first ever show at Perth’s Optus Stadium in just over three weeks’ time.

Adding to the already soaring levels of excitement and anticipation surrounding the shows, Frontier Touring are thrilled to confirm a trio of special guests who will be sharing support duties across Ed’s tour - Missy Higgins (all Australian shows), Drax Project (all Auckland shows), and Six60 (all Dunedin shows).

Ed Sheeran said of the announcement “I’m very excited to announce the main special guests for my Australian and New Zealand dates. In Australia Missy Higgins will be joining me, which I’m very happy about as I’m a long-time fan of her music. For Dunedin, Six60 will be joining me which is pretty huge. I’m told we’ve set a record in Dunedin for the most number of concerts, so those are going to be massive shows and it’s great to have Six60 on board. For Auckland, Drax Project will share the stage, who are doing really great stuff at the moment plus they hail from one of my favourite places in the world, Wellington, so extra points there. And we’ve got some more acts to announce shortly, so stay tuned! Looking forward to seeing everyone very soon.”

Sharing Ed’s innate and captivating talent for songwriting, Missy Higgins will join the tour as special guest for all twelve Australian stadium shows next month. One of the most successful and acclaimed female singer/songwriters in Australian music history, Missy has sold over a million albums in this country, enjoyed multiple #1 hits and won 9 ARIA Awards

“I’m profoundly grateful for the opportunity to share a stage with Ed and play to so many people but it’s already giving me butterflies. I don’t know whether I’m excited or terrified - probably a bit of both!” - Missy Higgins

Missy first came to prominence in 2004 with acclaimed debut album The Sound Of White, featuring much-loved tracks like ‘Scar’, ‘The Special Two’ and ‘Ten Days’, with albums On A Clear Night, The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle and OZ following. Today, Missy announced the latest addition to her already impressive catalogue with brand new single ‘Futon Couch’ - the first taste of Missy’s first album of original songs in six years, Solastalgia. Those in attendance at one of Ed’s shows may be among the first in the world to hear some of these new tracks performed live!

On support duties at all three of Ed’s shows at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium will be Wellington four-piece Drax Project. In the space of a few years, Drax Project has grown from being music students busking on the streets into one of the most watched groups in New Zealand.

"We're super excited to open for Ed Sheeran! We take so much inspiration from seeing what he has done, especially as he's come up from similarly humble beginnings to ourselves. We love his songwriting and are all massive fans." – Drax Project

Drax Project will release their second EP T/W/OO shortly and first single ‘Woke Up Late’ was quickly added to commercial radio in New Zealand and is currently storming up the Top 40 singles chart!

Rounding out a stellar line-up of special guests is the multi-award winning band Six60, who will open proceedings at all three of Ed’s Forsyth Barr Stadium shows.

"We really wanted to bring our fans something epic in Dunedin and teaming up with Ed Sheeran seemed like a no brainer to make that happen. We just hope he’s ready to experience a Dunedin party." – Chris Mac, Six60

The founding members of the five-piece first met at Dunedin’s University of Otago with their fanbase quickly spreading to universities throughout New Zealand.

The band’s profile exploded rapidly and their self-titled debut album topped the New Zealand album chart upon its release in 2011 and has since been certified 4x Platinum. Similarly, singles ‘Rise Up 2.0’ and ‘Don’t Forget Your Roots’ reached #1 and #2 respectively on the New Zealand singles chart and have been certified double and triple Platinum. As well as success on the charts, the group have picked up an impressive six New Zealand Music Awards including wins for Best Group and Single of the Year.

To date this year Six60 have already played a sold out tour of huge outdoor shows to over 30,000 Kiwi fans. The band continue to break records locally and are excited to open for Ed and be part of his record breaking concerts in Dunedin where it all began for them.

Ed has smashed the Australasian record for the largest number of stadium shows on one single tour with a mammoth 18-date Australia and New Zealand stadium run. With ticket sales already exceeding 950,000, Ed also broke the long-standing Dire Strait’s 1986 record for the most tickets sold on one tour of Australia and New Zealand.

From theatres to stadiums, Ed has sold out every single show on his four tours of our shores, collecting countless shining reviews along the way. Don’t miss the chance to be a part of this record-breaking tour – now with added special guests Missy Higgins, Drax Project and Six60!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL ED SHEERAN GALLERY BY DAVID WATSON

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